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This is specifically aimed at users in the U.S.
The U.S. is catching up to the rest of the world by bringing in chip cards (debit and credit). Later this year, there will be a cutoff date, after which the processing organizations (Visa and Mastercard) will be handling fraudulent transactions differently from now:
- If the card is a chip card, and the merchant processed it via the magnetic stripe, the merchant is out the money.
- If the card is NOT a chip card (i.e. it's an old-style magnetic strip only card), the bank which failed to issue a more secure replacement card is out the money.
Of course, the chip cards still have the magnetic stripes to allow them to be used in cases where the merchant has an older terminal, or as a fallback if the chip doesn't work, leading to scenario #1 for fraudulent transactions. Since the chip is supposed to be more secure, I can see fraudsters trying to force a "swipe" transaction (just swiping the card, not inserting it fully so it doesn't read, clear nail polish on the contacts so it doesn't read, static electricity "zap" to try to damage the chip so it won't read, etc). With modern terminals having the customer handling the card, this poses a risk.
Time to check with your employer to see if they have a policy regarding swiping of cards. Does the cashier have to verify that it's not a chip card before allowing it to be swiped? If a chip card, won't read, do you allow it to be swiped as a fallback (exposing the store to liability in case of fraud) or do you simply reject the card? After all, when chargebacks for fraud start coming in, managers won't hesitate to throw peons under the bus.
Note that this is a "heads up" of what's coming. If you want to discuss the merits of this change, there's a site with green text on a black background.
The U.S. is catching up to the rest of the world by bringing in chip cards (debit and credit). Later this year, there will be a cutoff date, after which the processing organizations (Visa and Mastercard) will be handling fraudulent transactions differently from now:
- If the card is a chip card, and the merchant processed it via the magnetic stripe, the merchant is out the money.
- If the card is NOT a chip card (i.e. it's an old-style magnetic strip only card), the bank which failed to issue a more secure replacement card is out the money.
Of course, the chip cards still have the magnetic stripes to allow them to be used in cases where the merchant has an older terminal, or as a fallback if the chip doesn't work, leading to scenario #1 for fraudulent transactions. Since the chip is supposed to be more secure, I can see fraudsters trying to force a "swipe" transaction (just swiping the card, not inserting it fully so it doesn't read, clear nail polish on the contacts so it doesn't read, static electricity "zap" to try to damage the chip so it won't read, etc). With modern terminals having the customer handling the card, this poses a risk.
Time to check with your employer to see if they have a policy regarding swiping of cards. Does the cashier have to verify that it's not a chip card before allowing it to be swiped? If a chip card, won't read, do you allow it to be swiped as a fallback (exposing the store to liability in case of fraud) or do you simply reject the card? After all, when chargebacks for fraud start coming in, managers won't hesitate to throw peons under the bus.
Note that this is a "heads up" of what's coming. If you want to discuss the merits of this change, there's a site with green text on a black background.
More and more places are switching to that sort of thing, over and above even the chip card - I have a feeling there is a maximum purchase for Tap to Pay though because it would be easy to steal somebody's card and use it without the PIN due to not having to actually punch in a PIN when you swipe your card.
Mildly annoying.
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