(Honolulu, Hawaii August 7, 2012) – As a card acquirer, First Hawaiian Bank merchants accept Visa credit cards and according to Visa, in 2011 did so with one of the lowest chargeback rates in the world.

For its efforts, the bank received one of Visa's prestigious Service Quality Performance Awards, recognizing First Hawaiian Bank for achieving the lowest chargeback to sales ratios for fraudulent reasons by an acquiring bank. First Hawaiian was one of only 3 banks in the world bestowed this honor in the multi-national participant category. The chargeback to sales ratio is a measurement of how many FHB merchants sustained losses against the bank's total Visa sales volume.

A fraudulent chargeback occurs when a stolen or counterfeit credit card is used for purchases and the legitimate cardholder disputes the charge made on their account. In every fraudulent case, the cardholder is protected by their card issuer against these kinds of charges.

The bank won the award for effectively educating its merchant customers on Visa acceptance procedures designed to ensure that transactions are properly processed at the point of sale. Because merchants are exposed to financial losses due to fraudulent card usage, First Hawaiian Bank educates merchant customers on the proper card payment acceptance procedures and will work with them when a dispute is filed to ensure that the required documentation is turned in on time to avoid any losses. This two-step approach in servicing its merchant customers has resulted in the lowest percentage of fraudulent chargebacks for First Hawaiian Bank merchant customers.

"We pride ourselves on maintaining close working relationships with our merchant customers and helping them achieve a successful experience with each and every transaction," according to Keith Nagata, Senior Vice President in charge of the bank's Business Services area. "This recognition is a tribute to our employees as well as our merchant customers who help us execute our relationship banking strategy everyday."

"More than ever, exceptional service quality is essential – particularly in bankcard operations – and Visa is pleased to recognize its clients for their consistent, superior operating performance in the key areas that directly affect Visa cardholders and merchants," said Brian Kieley, Global Head of Client Support Services, Visa. "Excellence in these areas benefits all participants in the payments processing chain. We congratulate First Hawaiian on this outstanding achievement."

The Visa Service Quality Performance Awards were established in 1992 to recognize exceptional card operations performance by issuers, acquirers and processors. Originally for U.S. clients, the program expanded globally three years ago to include all Visa Inc. markets. To qualify for one of these prestigious awards, clients must have met minimum VisaNet transaction processing thresholds and remained in good standing with Visa.

First Hawaiian is the state's largest local merchant services provider with over 7,500 customers in Hawaii, Guam, Saipan and the U.S. mainland. The bank processes over $ 4.1 billion worth of credit and debit card transactions annually. First Hawaiian Bank (www.fhb.com) with $16.1 billion in total assets was founded in 1858 and is Hawaii's oldest and largest bank. The bank processes all major U.S. credit cards as well as JCB, China Union Pay and BC Global.