"Smart" Credit and Debit Cards are coming in 2015

Amy SF

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Banks and credit card companies are working to make the switch to chipped cards and chip and PIN cards by October 1st of this year. No more magnetic strips. No more swiping. (I think.) Less risk of being caught in a data breach (or data theft.) And if it does happen, the liability will be not on the consumer but on the merchant and/or the card company.

From what I understand, it will change the way Americans pay for stuff.

And coming on the horizon: Paying for stuff with your mobile device. It's a Brave New World!

(You'll still be expected to drop some change into the tip jar, though.)

It will be interesting to see if and how this affects gift cards, which all have magnetic strips.

I suppose this means that those traveling to the US from elsewhere will be able to use chipped cards in the US.
 
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When I went to England in 2007 a lot of stores could not accept my credit cards because they were not chipped. I am surprised it has taken so long for the technology to take hold over here.
 
Banks and credit card companies are working to make the switch to chipped cards and chip and PIN cards by October 1st of this year. No more magnetic stripes. No more swiping. (I think.) Less risk of being caught in a data breach (or data theft.) And if it does happen, the liability will be not on the consumer but on the merchant and/or the card company.

From what I understand, it will change the way Americans pay for stuff.

And coming on the horizon: Paying for stuff with your mobile device. It's a Brave New World!

(You'll still be expected to drop some change into the tip jar, though.)

It will be interesting to see if and how this affects gift cards, which all have magnetic strips.

I suppose this means that those traveling to the US from elsewhere will be able to use chipped cards in the US.


I have always been able to use my bank cards with chips in the States, as they also have a magnetic band.
 
I have always been able to use my bank cards with chips in the States, as they also have a magnetic band.

It that specifically for use in the US? If so, then they will likely disappear as well, but slowly, because it will take quite a while for all of the technology to change over. It will cost millions of dollars for merchants to upgrade their credit/debit card technology.
 
My Amex card just got replaced with the chip, but it still has a magnetic strip because merchants have been slow to change their equipment to the chip readers, probably because it will cost them, so they are putting it off. I think there is a transition period, though, when they will have to catch up.
 
I am surprised it has taken so long for the technology to take hold over here.
No kidding, I'm shocked and would've presumed that they were normal stateside. We've had chip and pin for years here. There's also now contactless payment, where you can just tap your card and the money gets taken. I am refusing to get one right now.

anyway it's really simple to use, and I can definitely see the security benefits. Most machines you can still swipe a loyalty card or a gift card.
 
It that specifically for use in the US? If so, then they will likely disappear as well, but slowly, because it will take quite a while for all of the technology to change over. It will cost millions of dollars for merchants to upgrade their credit/debit card technology.

No. However, I don't remember any other country does does not use the chip besides the US. I think that we had had chips since the last 30 years.
 
Shyvas, that seems too much. According to Wikipedia, the first chips for credit cards were standardized in 1994 and the standard finalized in 1998.

So 20 years, maybe.
 
Shyvas, that seems too much. According to Wikipedia, the first chips for credit cards were standardized in 1994 and the standard finalized in 1998.

So 20 years, maybe.

I'm certain that my bank issued my chip card in the late 80's. The public telephone company was already selling phone chip cards in 1983. Major banks where issuing chips cards over here in 1992.
 
Banks and credit card companies are working to make the switch to chipped cards and chip and PIN cards by October 1st of this year. No more magnetic strips. No more swiping. (I think.) Less risk of being caught in a data breach (or data theft.) And if it does happen, the liability will be not on the consumer but on the merchant and/or the card company.

Bob Rankin has a very different perspective on these "chipped" cards, says they will be bad for consumers, will make it easier for "bad guys" to defraud consumers, and more of the liability will be pushed on the consumer/card holder.

Chipped Cards: A Raw Deal? - September 19, 2014

Are Chipped Credit Cards Bad for Consumers? – Rankin File

Preventing card fraud is a good thing, in theory. But researchers at the UK’s Cambridge University warn that EMV has not reduced fraud in countries that have implemented it. Instead, they say, banks have used EMV to shift liability for fraud losses onto consumers.
Additionally, the researchers say, point-of-sale terminal makers have implemented EMV in a flawed fashion that makes it easier for criminals to make fraudulent ATM withdrawals even though the card never leaves the cardholder’s possession. The same things could happen to U.S. cardholders, they warn. -

See more at: Are Chipped Credit Cards Bad for Consumers? – Rankin File

In other words, a fraudster who has had brief physical access to your card can read enough data off of it to generate bogus transaction data that will be accepted by your bank as iron-clad proof that you really did authorize the transaction. No refund for you, consumer!
Digging deeper into the EMV protocol, the researchers found a flaw that enables a scammer to intercept even a properly randomized authentication number and replace it with a bogus one that could result in a transfer of funds to the scammer. The interception can be done by malware embedded in a point-of-sale terminal.
Banks have dismissed this fraud possibility, blindly claiming that POS systems are too difficult for hackers to infiltrate. But that’s exactly what happened just a few months ago to Target Corp., with millions of terminals in its stores being infected with malware and 40 million customers’ data being stolen.

- See more at: Are Chipped Credit Cards Bad for Consumers? – Rankin File
 
That does not fill me with confidence. :rolleyes:

You don't have any other choice if the banks go ahead with chip cards.

Over here the banks are responsable for the card and in the event of fraudulent use customers get reimbursed within a certain time frame.
 
I have never had anyone manage to take money or clone my card. And I'm one of these people who never carries cash so uses my debit card a lot.
 
/bump

Credit Cards With Chips to Become the Standard This Week; What You Need to Know

I have several major credit cards, but for some reason only one of them has a chip on the front. It could be a while before I get chipped replacements for the others. I haven't gotten anything from the companies about it yet. In the meantime, I'd been putting this off, but I think I'm going to go ahead and set up Apple Pay on my iPhone.
 
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I used a chip card at Walgreens today for the first time. The cashier told me to insert it in this new bottom slot they had. (I have this thing about swiping cards wrong, very embarrassing).

So I made sure I had it facing the correct way, but apparently you aren't supposed to try to jam (or insert) the entire card in. It goes in half way, and then the magical chip has been read. [emoji15]
 
I used a chip card at Walgreens today for the first time. The cashier told me to insert it in this new bottom slot they had. (I have this thing about swiping cards wrong, very embarrassing).

So I made sure I had it facing the correct way, but apparently you aren't supposed to try to jam (or insert) the entire card in. It goes in half way, and then the magical chip has been read. [emoji15]

I have been using my chip credit card since the last two years at all Wallmarts in the US.
 
Amex replaced my card with a chip card, but I haven't used it that way yet because the stores don't have the readers.
 
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I haven't been in a lot of different places lately, but so far I haven't seen any chip readers. I don't shop at Walmart.

Edited to add: I got a notice from Target telling me that my new chipped Visa card is coming. Apparently there will be a new number on it, so I have a bit of a headache since it's a "stored" number on some websites and I'll have to fix that.