Billed as an EMV-based 'world first' by the bank and vendor partner NCR, the Tap and PIN project is intended to protect customers from the risks of card skimming, which costs the industry about $25 million a year in Australia.

ANZ CEO Philip Chronican says: “Counterfeit card fraud is a massive issue for the industry and law enforcement that causes significant inconvenience for customers. ANZ’s ‘Tap & PIN’ solution is a global first and will go a long way in the fight against card skimmers.”

Set for introduction in 2015, the re-tooling of the bank's ATM fleet will also include support for NFC technology for authentication and pre-staging cash machine transactions using the customer handset.

The bank has also collaborated with mobile payments outfit thumbzup to develop an EMV and PCI compliant card reader device for its FastPay app that connects through the audio-jack port in an iOS or Android device. About the size of a matchbox, the reader features an integrated PCI-compliant PIN entry method, obviating the need for a companion device to handle chip and PIN transactions.

Says Chronican: “This is the most secure way to process mobile payments and is in direct response to feedback from our business customers who told us they wanted a more convenient way to enter card details."

The roll out of the mPOS kit will also coincide with the arrival next year of ANZ's mobile wallet. Customers will be able to securely transfer and store a single ANZ card or multiple ANZ cards on their phone and use those cards to transact at contactless terminals.

“Customers have openly embraced ‘pay wave’, with around 74% of all debit card transactions currently taking place using this technology," says Chronican in reference to the national contactless network. "This solution provides our customers with another convenient way to make purchases via their mobile device, wherever contactless cards are accepted.”