MEMPHIS, Tenn., Oct. 20, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Tennessee Bank will soon offer customers the option of using a First Tennessee debit or credit card within Apple Pay, a new digital payment service from Apple that enhances security. Customers will be able to add their credit or debit cards to Apple Pay and then make purchases in stores with an iPhone 6 without swiping the cards or in apps without entering payment and contact information. First Tennessee is a subsidiary of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN).
With Apple Pay, customers don't share their actual credit and debit card numbers when they make purchases. Instead, a device account number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored. When a customer makes a purchase, that number along with a transaction-specific dynamic security code is used to process the payment. Apple never shares the actual card numbers with merchants or transmits them with payment. In addition, the cashier never sees the customer's name, card numbers or security code.
"Increasing convenience and security for our customers is our top priority, and Apple Pay is another way we are doing that for our cardholders," said Dondi Black, who manages retail payments for First Tennessee. "In the wake of recent data breaches at national merchants, Apple Pay gives customers another safe option for making payments at a wide range of retailers."
October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In another enhancement of cardholder security, First Tennessee announced Oct. 2 that it will soon issue chip cards to customers. Widely used in Europe and Asia, chip cards – or EMV cards – have embedded microchips that authenticate cardholders and authorize transactions. Unlike traditional cards with magnetic stripes, no data is stored on the card itself.
"More and more customers are using mobile banking with their iPhones, so Apple Pay brings a similar transformation to the way they make their purchases," Black said. "With digital payment solutions like Apple Pay and chip cards, we're using the latest technology to meet customer needs and keep their information safe."
About First Horizon
The 4,200 employees of First Horizon National Corp. (NYSE:FHN) provide financial services through more than 170 First Tennessee Bank locations in and around Tennessee and 27 FTN Financial offices in the U.S. and abroad. The company was founded during the Civil War in 1864 and has the 14th oldest national bank charter in the country. First Tennessee has the leading combined market share in the counties where it does business, and FTN Financial is a capital markets industry leader in fixed income sales, trading and strategies for institutional customers in the U.S. and abroad. First Horizon has been recognized as one of the nation's best employers by Working Mother and American Banker magazines. More information is available at www.FirstHorizon.com.
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