San Francisco DA pushes for chip payment cards in tech’s backyard

Chip-and-PIN payment cards have a strong supporter in the hotbed of payment technologies, with San Francisco’s district attorney promoting the new technology as a way to cut down on fraud.

As nearby tech startups like Square and giants like Apple and Google invent new ways to buy things, San Francisco DA George Gascon is pushing for stores to accept chip-and-PIN, an updated version of the tried-and-true credit card.

“We’re still using old technology that’s very easily skimmed,” said Gascon, referring to malicious software and devices used by fraudsters to collect people’s card information and duplicate their cards.

That’s why chip-and-PIN card technology is needed to thwart payment card theft, he said. The chip in the cards creates a one-time code for each transaction, making it harder for criminals to create a fraudulent card that’s of any use. In combination with other improvements such as point-to-point encryption, chip-and-PIN may help to prevent thefts of payment data like the large-scale attack at Target last year.

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