October is EMV card month. And what is EMV? Currently there are 1.96 billion credit cards in circulation and they are about to change. Black people all over America are walking around with a credit or debit card in their purse or wallet. So we need to know and understand what EMV is and how it will change the landscape of credit card use starting in October. So lets get started.
First of all next month the way you use your credit or debit card will change. The first thing that will change is the card itself. America is the last major market on earth to switch to the chip embedded card. Why? The short answer is laziness, stupidity or ignorance by all involved. If you have not already received your chip embedded card now is the time to call your bank or card provider and ask when you should expect it.
The new card is called the EMV which stands for Europay MasterCard VISA after the people who invented it. The first noticeable difference in the new card will be the chip, which is the small silver or gold chip embedded in the front of the card. Because of this chip the card should be more secure than the current magnetic stripe card you may still be carrying. Magnetic stripe cards save static payment data that can be copied, stolen or skimmed from one card and put onto another. This duplicate card data is then used to make all kinds of fraudulent purchases. Magnetic strip cards are simply outdated and notoriously insecure. The EMV technology adds a layer of security to the payment process.
The EMV card works a little differently. The chip you see on your card has encrypted data. EMV card readers can read that data. Each purchase made with an EMV card creates a individual code unique to that particular purchase. If a hacker got a hold of that code he would not able to use it. You should be seeing the card readers in stores already. Once you slide your card into the reader, no more swiping, powerful cryptographic functions validate the authenticity of the card and cardholder. Bottom line is the encryption makes it extremely difficult to create a duplicate or fake card. But keep in mind that the magnetic strip is not likely to disappear from cards. Many small merchants will continue to use the old style card reader.
When you pay using the EMV card reader your card is instantly identified as being authentic by a process called dynamic authentication. When used with a PIN, the chip proves that the customer is paying with his or her own card.
Another change coming in October is the liability shift. A liability shift means that the responsibility for credit card fraud shifts slightly from just the card issuer to a shared liability of both the issuer or merchant that doesn’t use EMV technology. This change provides both parties with an incentive to adopt the technology. However it is not required that either party switch to the new technology. Why? Lets keep this as simple as possible; some issuers and merchants may still feel it is cheaper to take a loss on card fraud than to invest in the new technology. Is that simple enough for you?
NerdWallet’s Sean McQuay, a credit card expert and former VISA strategy analyst says, “EMV is a powerful tool, but it’s only effective if both consumers and merchants are ready to use it for transactions. Consumers need chip cards and merchants need chip readers. If only one side has upgraded to EMV for a specific transaction, then the upgrade was a waste.”
But will EMV solve all of our card security concerns? Probably not. This new technology is great but not perfect.
For example; in person transactions would definitely be more secure. Not so with the ‘card not present‘ type of transaction such as purchases by phone or online. Using your card at the gas pump will continue to be dangerous since gas pumps aren’t required to implement the new technology until 2017. So this type of fraud is expected to increase.
So learn to protect yourself. Hackers are going to be going after those store that don’t use the new EMV card and card readers. That’s the first place you are vulnerable. Avoid those stores whenever possible by keeping a little extra cash in your pocket. And demand the new card from your bank or issuer. If they have decided not to go with the new technology then you may want to got with an institution that does.When shopping online avoid unfamiliar or unsecure websites. When you see “https” at the beginning of the payment page’s URL that means it is a secure payment site. Avoid it if you only see “http.” Change your user name and password regularly if you store your card information with any online retailers. Avoid sending credit card information via email or social media.
Finally, criminals work hard too steal your money. The technology arms war n isever ending and hackers have already developed methods for hacking the EMV cards. Read on!
Here is more of what you need to know about the new EMV card technology.
Federal Reserve say Chip and Signature Not Enough.
Bad Guys Already Compromising Chip and PIN Cards
Now you know.
