EMV sets the stage for a better payment future

Yesterday was the deadline. Finally, the United States is switching from the old-fashioned swiping method for credit card transactions to the more secure chip-based system scheme dubbed EMV (for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, which together originated the technology).

The chip is harder to counterfeit, and unlike magnetic stripes, it can’t be easily read and duplicated, which is what credit-card counterfeiters have long done. In other countries, the chip is coupled with a PIN, so if someone steals the card, they can’t use it unless they also know your PIN — a form of second-factor authentication U.S. debit cards have long used, but not U.S. credit cards. However, U.S. banks are not requiring the use of PINs with chip cards; the old-fashioned, security-irrelevant signature will still be used here.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here