The US are at last to move to Chip and Pin for credit and debit cards. President Obama announced a BuySecure Initiative and said that to start with all government issued cards (for Social Security etc) will be replaced with Chip and Pin.
In his speech Obama noted that in store credit card fraud was cut by 70% in the UK when Chip and Pin was first introduced.
It will mean that many retailers in the US will have to replace their point of sale equipment to upgrade to Chip and Pin. However companies such as Walmart, Target, Walgreens and Home Depot have already pledged to accept the new cards.
The only thing that amazes me is that the US are so far behind in payments technology. Chip and Pin cards were first introduced in the UK a decade ago in 2004 with their use becoming required in shops from February 2006. It really is hard to understand why they have not been introduced years ago in the US.
An amusing anecdote right at the end of the video… Obama’s own credit card was rejected as he hadn’t used it enough and it looked like a fraudulent transaction. That’s something that hopefully Chip and Pin will solve.
One Response
Chip and Pin?…pffft we’re onto contact-less now, Mr Obama.