Chip cards set to replace standard credit cards next week

Stores are supposed to be equipped to accept the cards by October. 1.

Another 59% don’t understand why the new cards are being implemented, and 67% don’t know how EMV will impact their shopping behavior.

As criminals continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, it’s crucial that the payment ecosystem be adaptable to new threats.

Current estimates are that only 70 percent of credit cards and 41 percent of debit cards will be EMV-ready by the end of 2015, so it may take a while for you see all of your cards arrive with the chip.

Chip cards create a unique code for each transaction that can not be duplicated for fraudulent purposes.

Fresh security features that will enhance its payment card have been introduced by Visa Incorporated.

After the new rules go into effect, banks will no longer honor their share of fraud costs if the card used is a chip card and the retailer does not have a chip card reader. For these reasons, merchants have long supported enabling payment methods with a second layer of security, such as the use of personal identification numbers (PINs). Many retailers believe the liability shift is unfair because the chip reduces banks’ exposure to fraud while the lack of a PIN leaves retailers exposed to fraud.

According to the Better Business Bureau, EMV technology will not prevent data breaches from occurring, but it will make it much harder.

If you travel overseas regularly, you’ve probably already seen chip card technology in action.

Beyond concern for their customers’ data, however, a harsher financial reality may motivate many small businesses to make the switch. In-store fraud losses declined sharply in countries like the United Kingdom and Canada following the adoption of chip and PIN. The merchant can prompt for a PIN if they are concerned about lost and stolen card fraud, but they are not required to. “Unfortunately, the claims being presented by the financial services industry represent an attempt to mislead reporters and consumers rather than provide the facts surrounding the upcoming October 1st liability shift”.

Does my business have to upgrade to EMV terminals?

This could cause credit-card thieves to focus on merchants that don’t adopt the EMV standards as well as online merchants, trends that have emerged in other countries after EMV was established. That thinking sells consumers short and can not guide any meaningful effort to improve payment security.

The USA is the last major market still using the traditional swipe-and-sign system for credit card transactions, which is a problem considering that nearly half of the world’s credit card frauds happens in American territory, with huge situations like the recent Target credit card data theft.