December 12, 2000 (BNamericas.com) - The Brazilian subsidiary of US-based credit card company Visa (www.visa.com) is carrying out a pilot project that would turn all its credit and debit cards - some 46 million - into smartcards within four years, O Estado de Sao Paolo (Brazil) reported. A smartcard is a plastic card with an embedded microchip instead of the traditional magnetic stripe. It can be loaded with data and then recharged. Visa is currently testing a system called e-safetransfer, which allows cardholders to make online payments from home, and charge their cards with the amount of their choice, in order to avoid fraud. The system is expected to launch in 1Q001. Using the e-safetransfer system, smartcard holders insert the cards into their computers. If the computer is not equipped with a smartcard reading mechanism, clients will be able to install a reading device. Besides inserting the card, bank clients also need to type in their home banking password. According to Visa Brazil product director Eduardo Chedid, the fact that the system requires the client to insert the card as well as type in the password ensures higher fraud protection. He also said that some 15 Brazilian banks participating in the migration process from magnetic stripe cards to smartcards, should also implement the e-safetransfer system. The banks include Bradesco, Banco do Brasil and Itau. Business News Americas (BNamericas.com)