Many were hoping that the implementation of EMV would play a major role in shutting down the spike in fraudulent activity that has affected so many consumers in recent years. It was reported that 56 million cards were compromised in the Home Depot breach of 2014, and 40 million debit and credit cards were compromised in the Target holiday breach. While the hope was that the U.S. would move to the chip-and-PIN system, the migration to chip-and-signature cards has left many feeling there is much to be desired. Mike Cook, the senior vice president and assistant treasurer for Wal-Mart called […]

A survey of the changing trends in the card payment industry has projected that approximately 800 million payment cards that include the debit and the credit cards are likely to have the EMV chips. For many people around the world, these Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) debit and credit cards are not just a preference, they are basic requirement. The increased levels of technical fraud that threaten the safety of people’s identities and expose merchants and clients to the risk of great financial losses has made the need for EMV cards even more urgent. The promise to have debit and credit […]

A possible question regarding the new debit and credit cards embedded with the EMV chip would be why it is taking too long for their issuers to make them available for circulation.  Why, you would ask, don’t they just issue out the cards the same way the normal credit or debit cards are usually issued? The list of questions people are likely to ask regarding these cards is long. But the reality is that there are quite a lot of logistical procedures involved with the issuance of these cards. It is these logistics that may explain the great disparity existing […]

If asked, could you explain tokenization to your customers? Would you be able to tell them what the advantages would be if you offered a tokenization payment platform? For those who are not up-to-date on all of the new technology, tokenization could replace all the information that is contained in the magnetic stripe on the back of a credit or debit card. This would mean that stealing the information contained on the stripe would be virtually impossible. For those with high risk merchant accounts, when a customer makes a purchase online, they input their card information into your checkout system […]

Congress has finally admitted that they need to act about the issues involving data theft. From last year’s Target/Neiman Marcus data theft to June 2014’s PF Chang’s data theft, there is a massive need for data security reform. However, while Congress is “interested”, the card companies already have a fix. Data theft can occur in many ways. The “old fashioned” method of sticky tape on ATM machines is still used by some, however newer data thieves are more brazen and more tech savvy. With the Target data breach, a foreign hacker managed to hack into terminals via a computer virus. […]

Cardholder data has and still is the largest target for data thieves. However, hackers are beginning to build diversified portfolios. More and more of data breaches are involving data other than cardholder data. The U.S. is the prime location for hackers because it still uses 43-year-old technology in payment cards with magnetic strips. According to ISO – Industry News, 42% of all malwares reside in the U.S. The U.S. is making the transition to EMV chip-based cards soon, with a deadline of October 2015. After that date, there will be a fraud liability shift affecting those who are unprepared for […]

With the October 2015 deadline looming, many are speculating that only a minority of merchants are prepared for EMV. As of right now, issuers and merchants have 16 months until the deadline for the EMV pin and chip cards to be implemented. Gas stations have been given a deadline of October 2017. After the deadlines have passed, the liability incurred for counterfeit card fraud will shift to the party who has not equipped themselves for EMV. For the rest of the developed world, the EMV pin and chip card standard has been well established for 20 years. However, many small […]

The recent rise in cyber hacking has led to the rush to switch to chip and PIN technology. While it is set to hit the market in 2015, many vendors are going ahead and making the switch via their store-specific credit cards. While this is great, a recent Digital Transaction News, or DNT survey found that many “average” merchants were actually prepared for the change. About two-thirds of respondents say no more than 40% of merchants will be ready to perform chip card transactions using the Europay-MasterCard-Visa standard. The survey asked how many merchants will be ready by October 2015 […]

October 2015 is the first deadline for the transformation of U.S. credit and debit cards from the current magnetic strip cards to smart cards embedded with a chip. After the deadline the liability for fraudulent transactions will be on merchants who don’t support the EMV chip card standard. This however, is dependent on the deadline not being postponed as many in the payments industry speculate. There are a few reasons for the speculation. Firstly because the U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Fed hasn’t followed Congress’ aim of implementing the Durbin Amendment’s interchange price […]

The National Retail Federation told a congressional panel that the retail industry is committed to safeguarding and protecting consumer data and information from highly motivated and sophisticated cybercriminals and hackers. This comes after many mass-hackings, such as the Target data breach in 2013 and the newly announced Michael’s data breach. Not only are consumers at risk from these breaches and hackings, but so are retailers, as they are at risk of losing business. NRF supports the immediate switch over from the current signature cards to chip and PIN cards.  The chip and PIN cards have been used in Europe, and […]