Death Hovers Politely For Americans' Swipe-and-Sign Credit Cards 731
schwit1 writes "U.S. banks and merchants are shifting to a more secure way of authorizing credit card transactions in which customers will enter a personal identification number (PIN) at checkout instead of signing a receipt. The US is the last major market in the world using the signature system, which is part of the reason why a disproportionate amount of credit card fraud happens here. The change is especially relevant given the massive fraud perpetrated against customers of Target in the fall. During a Congressional hearing last week, Target CFO John Mulligan said the company is accelerating the $100 million effort to switch to the so-called "chip and pin" system.
The change won't happen all at once. Banks must issue cards with microprocessors and merchants need the right equipment to process the chip and PIN transactions, which is likely to happen gradually. But Visa, American Express, and MasterCard have announced that banks and merchants that have not adopted the technology for face-to-face transactions by October 2015 will be liable for fraudulent purchases. That's a strong incentive to get up to date. The new system will also prepare merchants and banks to transition to contactless payments in the near future."
Re:It's about time. (Score:4, Funny)
Damn...I've been avoiding cards with chips in them all these years.
I don't want a smart card.
You should also avoid cards with magnetic strips on them. Damn dirty electromagnetic field technology!
And what good does this do you when you buy online?
Nothing. Of course, any improvement in security that doesn't improve security in every possible case should be discounted completely!
Re:Better late.... (Score:5, Funny)
"The Target breach was a large enough embarrassment to light the fuel under the motivational bonfire."
But with a name like that, surely they were asking for it...
Re:It's about time. (Score:2, Funny)
I was about to write this as well. We have been using pins for credit cards in Switzerland for the last 10 years...
Jeez you swiss are such a bunch of stick in the muds.
France has been using Chip+Pin since 1992.
Re:It's about time. (Score:5, Funny)
"the consumers get to be forced to memorize a new PIN!"
Sometimes it's funny to hear Americans complain about how difficult life is. Change is so scary!
Re:It's about time. (Score:5, Funny)
/ducks
Re:It's about time. (Score:5, Funny)
no you don't. you use petrol, you just call it gas. even thought it's a liquid. /ducks