Chip Credit and Debit Cards
 

Both Visa and American Express have provided new credit cards that have the chip embedded. I have been to Best Buy, Ace Hardware and Panera and they have the terminals that will accept the chipped cards......but they don't. They all said (and no, it was not a manager) they bought the terminals for future use but have not put them online. Has anyone found any place that has the terminals activated?

It is my understanding that many card companies are still requiring a signature claiming people can not be trusted with PIN numbers. This may be what is holding it up? Many folks are very use toPIN numbers and i believe there is something else going on and card companies are using this as an excuse

They are accepted at Walmart and Sam's Club and the chip embedded credit cards do not require a pin number for credit transactions. They have been using them for some time.

I requested a chip card from Discover Card. The rep said that, if I did get one, I'd need to have a 2nd card for vendors who can't process the chip cards. I declined.

I thought the chips were going to be required sometime in 2014 or the cc companies would turn the cost of any fraud back onto the vendors.

How are they verifying without the PIN.....would seen there would be no more security than the current magnetic strip?

Our Visa card also has the magnetic strip, AMEX is on the way so don't know it it has both. With the magnetic strip on a chipped card not sure I see a security advantage .

I don't know about Discover, but with Visa and Master Card this is not the case. I have had chip cards for several years and use them as regular cards with magnetic strip and with a signature.

In Europe the chip cards and readrers are ubiquitous. However, when using an American card with a chip, it will come up as "Signature Required" and then you just sign like you normally do.

I have been told by my bank that even though my cards have chips that I should never use it with a PIN because as of now all PIN transactions are treated as cash advances and carry heavy transaction fees. Hopefully the American card system will evolve so that we can use PINs with our cards for regular credit transactions.

I've read that it doesn't really protect you if someone steals your card or your number; the chip is to keep our records safe when retailers are hacked, like Target was last year.

I believe they are just getting the information about you and your account number from the chip rather than the magnetic strip. Then you sign the charge slip just as always.

Eventually I'm sure (or at least hope) that we will be able to do credit transactions with a PIN.

This is probably true with the way the chip is used now. However, in Europe, use of a credit card from a European bank requires a PIN. This then would protect the card holder from misuse of a lost/stolen card.

We been using chipped credit cards in Canada for quite a while; probably five years now.
We type in a PIN #. No signature required.

A few weeks ago the banks said they didn't want the American consumer to have to remember a pin number, like it was too difficult for us. I have no idea what the real reason is.

The chip really is an extra layer of security, more info than magnetic stripe. Have one from Germany, still have to use PIN over there.

Chase sent me a chip card, but have so many cards, I do not use it.

Also overthere, PINS are longer than four digits, have one now eight digits.

If you make online transaction must have PIN and unique TAN Transaction Number, Only used once.

Much more secure there, we need to do it here, but TAN generation is difficult.

We got our new AE with a chip and have had no problems including Ace in Wildwood.