The French banking group plans to put the first cards into the hands of 1000 customers from this September.

The bank says the technology, developed by Oberthur, will improve security for consumers purchasing online and entails no changes to the usual check-out procedure at the merchant side. 

Nicolas Chatillon, head of development - payments, strategic marketing and studies - at BPCE Group, says: "The Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Épargne networks will be the first banks in the world to give their customers the opportunity to experiment with this new payment card technology to make their online purchases even more secure. This initiative is an integral part of the BPCE Group’s commitment to payment solutions and its determination to step up the battle against fraud."