"Hello sir; we're calling to confirm you made a purchase of $348.72 in Chicago Illinois," said my bank representative through a clear phone call.
"Um, no? Did someone steal my credit card?" I said. My eyes darting back and forth in confusion.
"Sir there has been a data breach with Target, have you not read the news headlines?"
I was fortunate in this case: they were able to reverse the charges and overnight me a new credit card.
All around the world, especially in Asia, and Europe, cardholders have been paying with credit cards with an actual chip embedded in them. The idea is that the cards can't be duplicated as easily.
This reduces fraud, and increases security, making both the cardholders and merchants less at-risk. You may have heard it called by its actual name, EMV which stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, although most people seem to be settling on "chip and pin" or simply "chip cards".
October of 2015 is the deadline. Typically, banks are on the hook for fraud, but beginning in October, merchants that don't have equipment that accepts Chip cards will bear the liability. The number of retailers expected to accept chip or EMV cards is expected to increase by 650% by October. Some reports say chip cards could reduce credit card fraud by 40% in the U.S.
Keep in mind this is only relevant to merchants who accept physically swiped cards, so for card not present transactions like wholesalers and online businesses, it does not apply.
If you are a merchant and don't currently accept chip cards, or don't know, drop us a line. We are happy to offer an initial consultation and provide the correct secure equipment solutions. Click here to schedule a complimentary call.
