Credit card with chip is the new standard across the world for secure payment transactions and credit card data security.
Every time you look at the news feeds, you see it: another threat to credit card security. It seems like not a day goes by we aren’t once again under some form of attack on our personal information.
Criminals have become quite creative in their attempts to steal our sensitive information and our identities.
What is a credit card company to do to combat all the threats to our security which seem to be popping up nearly every day? And what is that company to do who is tired of paying for all the expensive fraud out of their own pockets?
Well, they could try forcing each and every credit card holder to go through airport NSA level security scanners at the grocery store every time they need to buy milk. But I have a feeling this wouldn’t be received well.
Instead, they devised a much simpler and far less dramatic way to combat threats. Most importantly, it’s effective! So far…
Traditional credit cards are far too easy for criminals to copy sensitive information from.
This little magnetic stripe on the back of our credit cards which we’ve gotten so accustomed to seeing holds all of our sensitive information. This information doesn’t change. Which means any criminal savvy enough to gain access to this information can duplicate it as many times as they want on fraudulent purchases.
Unfortunately for credit card holders, there are a lot of tech savvy criminals in the world. No one is safe from fraud anymore.
Credit card companies in Europe have been using a new, more secure form of credit card which has a microchip actually built right into the card. You may have seen them since they are now being introduced in the United States as well.
They look just like every other credit card. Card number and expiration date along with the credit card holder’s name on the front, and magnetic stripe on the back. The only real difference is on the front of the card in the upper left portion is a small gold microchip embedded in the card.
This small difference makes all the difference!
This tiny little chip contains circuits which stores your sensitive information. How does this make a difference in helping keep it safe?
It prevents would-be criminals from duplicating your information because the information changes with every new transaction. Every time you use the card to purchase an item, it creates a unique code for the transaction and it cannot be reused. So people trying to use your information can’t because they aren’t able to replicate those transactions.
Talk about a huge sigh of relief! Credit card users everywhere are beginning to feel a little better about their sensitive information.
Most chip credit cards are “chip and PIN” cards, which require the user to enter a unique PIN only they know every time they purchase an item. They still use the signature method as a fallback option for verification, but the PIN verification method is the first option used when possible.
There is also a slightly different way these cards are used at the terminal too. Instead of swiping the card through the reader, the user “dips” it into the machine through a slot.
Once it is inserted into the reader, the microchip communicates with the issuing financial institution to verify the transaction. The PIN is entered and the transaction is verified. Done.
It does take a few seconds longer for the card to be verified, but I think we could all afford to take a few extra moments of our day to get milk for the kids at home if it means less fraud in the world.
Credit card companies have already noticed a large drop in fraud cases since they introduced chip and pin cards. Criminals have largely abandoned their efforts to commit fraud in European countries who have switched to credit cards with chips embedded in them. It just isn’t as easy for them to rip us off like as it used to be.
Credit card companies in the United States have finally started to roll out chip and pin cards here in the US, the last major market to switch to cards with chips. They, too, have noticed a drop in fraud cases since they began issuing them to credit card holders.
It is the card of the future! Or at least the foreseeable future anyway.
You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief across the country as people start to receive their new, more secure, chip credit cards! View www.redfynn.com for more information. Or call (888) 510-9871.
