Chip-And-Pin Technology: When Will The U.S. Climb On Board?
Posted by maira | November 14th, 2011 | Awards & Perks, General Information
Over 11 million adults become victims of credit card fraud every year in the United States. Many consumers have, at one point or another, experienced unexpected and unauthorized charges on their account. It may have happened at your local gas station, a night out drinking with friends, or a number of other ways.
Truth is most of us never end up knowing how our credit card information was fraudulently obtained. But let’s face it: This multimillion-dollar business is more common than you may think and affects thousands of people every day.
So, why are we one of the few countries still not adopting the EMV-enabled credit card standard, also known as chip-and-pin technology?
Confused?
Okay, let me explain.
EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) technology significantly reduces the risks of credit card fraud, due to counterfeit, lost and stolen cards. This is because consumers can punch in their PIN (the 4-digit code most commonly used with debit cards) as a cardholder verification method. Eight countries worldwide are either in the process of EMV chip migration or already have it fully integrated. But such isn’t the case here… yet.
Magnetic stripe-based credit cards are currently the norm in the U.S., whereby the consumer swipes their card through a reader, thus automatically transferring their credit card data, and with just a signature on the receipt, you’re done! This is all that’s needed to (poorly) verify you are the legit owner of the card you’re using.
However, this manner of payment allows thieves to “lift” your information and create a new fake card. And what does that mean for you? A sudden possible target of identity theft, along with numerous calls and visits to your bank ASAP to clear those nerve-wracking, frustrating charges.
Thankfully, countries such as Europe, Brazil and Canada have taken note to these dangers, and now EMV-enabled cards are widely accepted all across the world. It is estimated that over 1.2 billion EMV cards have been issued globally.
When will we be next?
Visa has announced plans to start implementing EMV-cards within the next four years, requiring many merchants to accept chip transactions by April 2013. This will provide more added layers of security and overall fraud protection for nationwide consumers. This will provide more added layers of security and overall fraud protection for nationwide consumers.
Bank of America also intends to offer credit cards with this standard technology to those who travel overseas in early 2012. These cards will be issued to U.S. corporate customers. Similarly, other banks such as Chase and Wells Fargo, have started issuing EMV-cards to international travelers.
But Canada residents are the ones really in luck!
Take the Sony Card MasterCard® Credit Card, issued by MBNA Canada, for instance. This no-annual fee credit card DOES feature chip-and-pin technology, thus allowing you to shop for the latest Sony products with confidence and peace of mind. Security plus convenience? It doesn’t get much better than that.
Although the U.S. may have some catching up to do… with Visa and Bank of America taking EMV-suit, hopefully we’ll see changes sooner rather than later.
For now, remember to regularly check your bank statements and happily shop on the side of caution!
Tags: Bank of America, canadian credit cards, chip-and-pin, chip-and-pin technology, EMV, fraud prevention, identity fraud, Identity Theft, MasterCard, PIN, smart cards, sony, sony card mastercard, sony mastercard, standard credit card technology, swipe-and-sign, U.S.-issued cards, Visa
Filed under: Awards & Perks, General Information |
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