Online PIN Check allows Chip and PIN cardholders the convenience of viewing their PIN in a secure environment. The innovation follows the company's successful rollout of Chip and PIN cards to large corporate clients in the United States and Europe over the last few years. Next month, BofA Merrill will be expanding its offering of Chip and PIN to corporate clients in Canada.

"The global card market continues to evolve towards a wholesale adoption of Chip and PIN technology, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch is pleased to offer the solution to its clients," said Kevin Phalen, head of Global Card and Comprehensive Payables.

Online PIN Check was developed in response to feedback from clients who were looking for a quicker, more convenient way of verifying their personal identification number. "Our priority was to create a tool that would give clients peace of mind - both in terms of knowing their information was easily accessible, and most importantly, that it would be protected. The industry-leading solution of online PIN Check, which will substantially improve cardholders' ability to use their cards, underscores our commitment to the product," added Phalen.

Online PIN Check allows cardholders to access their PIN in a simple and secure environment at any time of the day from any secure internet point. The secure website requires users to be registered and to login with a password. The convenience of the website is particularly significant for business travelers who often do not have the luxury of waiting a number of days to receive a PIN confirmation through the more common channel of regular mail. The site is currently available in English and will be offered in French, German, Italian, and Spanish by year's end.

The online PIN Check website is currently available to the company's Chip and PIN cardholders in the United States and Europe, and will be available to Canadian clients next month following the rollout of Chip and PIN in that market. Clients in Canada will join other Chip and PIN cardholders in being able to take advantage of the many benefits of Chip and PIN cards including:
• Ability to use the cards at all Canadian Chip enabled merchants, as well as those that only accept magstripe cards.
• Ability to use the cards at unmanned terminals such as transit ticket booths, gas stations and parking garages.
• Reducing transaction time by eliminating the need to sign a ticket to verify a transaction
• Improving security over magstripe cards by uniquely encoding transactional information each time the card is used.