Historical series Itaú Unibanco customers can block and unblock proximity payments with the physical card directly in the app
Functionality aims to give account holders and cardholders autonomy in their transactions; the initiative is also part of the bank’s movement to raise awareness and protect customers from scams when using its products and services, encouraging safer digital payments
August 2023 – Itaú Unibanco has made a new mechanism available in its apps to make everyday life easier for customers. From now on, account holders and cardholders can block and unblock the physical card payment feature directly in the bank’s app. As a result, consumers have more freedom to choose the mode of use according to what is most convenient for them.
The initiative aims to give more autonomy to customers, who, even if they block the proximity payment function on the physical card, can continue to carry out these transactions using the digital wallets registered on their cellphones (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay), which as well as being more practical, offers an additional layer of security at the time of purchase, since the data on the physical card is replaced and encrypted.
In addition to the Itaú apps, the functionality is also available on the Luiza, Credicard and Hipercard apps.
“The initiative is in line with the bank’s movement to raise awareness and protect customers from scams when using its products and services, encouraging safer digital payments,” says Mário Miguel, Payments Director at Itaú Unibanco. “Itaú has been investing more and more in technologies and functionalities that improve the customer experience in all service channels, with a complete offer of products and services. In the case of card blocking for proximity payments, it was previously necessary to call the help center to make this request. With this new feature, we are meeting a recurring demand from customers, who now have a more fluid and convenient operation at their disposal,” he explains.
The functionality is available in the bank’s apps, under ‘My protections’.
In addition to this development, Itaú also has other important features that combine innovation and security: the blocking of the physical card for online purchases – which, together with the use of the virtual card, offers more convenience and security, especially for consumers who make purchases over the Internet; the total blocking of the physical card, which meets a demand in cases where the customer can’t find their card and needs to prevent its use for security reasons; and the warning of future purchases. Created following requests from customers themselves, this allows them to be informed by the bank’s apps before a specific purchase outside their consumption pattern is made, increasing the chances of approving transactions that could otherwise be denied due to risk criteria. In this way, it is possible to maintain security without customers missing out on purchasing opportunities or experiencing difficulties at the time of an important transaction.