Chip day is coming

[wolfie]

Will this switch effect the Square app? I know a lot of farmers markets and ComicCon vendors use it which is great because it saves me from having to carry boatloads of cash.

One article I read on Consumerist says that Square is coming out with a new chip-compatible gizmo. For their customers who have ordered but not yet received the new gizmo, Square will "take the heat" if a swiped transaction on a chip card turns out to be fraudulent.

[Headset Hellion]

I've seen the choice of tap to pay on machines here, but I don't know how many merchants here will be prepared for the chip thing. I know my bank is currently offering to switch cards to the chip card for free. I want to do it, but I'm not sure if the stores I usually shop at will be able to take the payment that way.

The last I heard on the subject before I left Bank of My Country in November was that merchants had been advised of the change several month prior. The deadline to update, IIRC, is end of 2015. Gas stations have until 2017 to update the card readers at their pumps.

Your stores may have already updated; the machines look very much the same. They still have the slider-thing (WTF is that called?) for swiping magnetic stripes along one side, but there's a slot on the bottom where you would insert a chip card. I recently drove from PA to WA and most stores along the way already had the new card readers.

[ComputerNecromancer]

Man here in Canada I've had a chip card for, I dunno, at least a few years now. Wonder how long til you guys get the tap to pay. I love tap to pay, works at quite a few places.

Not the same thing. That just has an RFID chip in the card. That's got pretty much the same info as the stripe does if I recall correctly.

And the exchange of info with the terminal can be read (with the right gear) by anybody within 10 feet.

The new chip cards have a "computer" chip inside, and it has to make actual electrical contact with a connector inside the terminal.

Can't be monitored by some guy with a gizmo in his briefcase standing 10 feet away.

Also can exchange more complex data (high security handshake) faster because of the wired connection.

So as they note in the linked article, what gets stored in the businesses records is a unique code for that transaction. It can be matched to your card by the credit bureau, but can't be used to counterfeit your card.

So hacking a businesses computers won't get any useful data. Neither will "skimmers fitted to ATMs or the like (and they'd be a lot harder to build)

[KuariKaydrith]

The new chip cards have a "computer" chip inside, and it has to make actual electrical contact with a connector inside the terminal.

We've had those for a few years now - RFID is the latest and greatest, supposedly. We've still had issues with theft with the chip card, albeit not as often as what happens with just swiping it but it still happens. The chip cards are obvious because of the gold coloured chip on them. Hell, even my university ID was issued with a chip because we can load money onto it for printing or use at some of the on-campus food places, and I got my card around eight years ago...definitely not new tech for us up here at all.

[bainsidhe]

I imagine the tech will get much easier to use, but for now it's just annoying. Only one business I frequent has you insert the chip card versus swiping, and it often requires multiple attempts inserting the card before it registers.

[Chromatix]

The technology is mature - it's been in use all over Europe for ages. The main difference from current US practice is that you have to enter the PIN instead of signing.

I'm sure some SCs will complain about the change, but they do that anyway, so no big deal. Mainly I would expect suctomers to forget their PINs a lot to begin with.

The requirement to not swipe a card that has a chip is already standard in Europe, too. The swipe method will still work in readers that can't handle chips - there is some sort of code on the stripe that chip-capable readers look for. It's a simple deterrent against skimmers; it's common for them to send the card details overseas, to places that don't have chip cards yet, to get around it, even though that makes it easy for geographic fraud detectors to notice the problem.

[PastryGal]

Not the same thing. That just has an RFID chip in the card. That's got pretty much the same info as the stripe does if I recall correctly.

And the exchange of info with the terminal can be read (with the right gear) by anybody within 10 feet.

The new chip cards have a "computer" chip inside, and it has to make actual electrical contact with a connector inside the terminal.

Can't be monitored by some guy with a gizmo in his briefcase standing 10 feet away.

Also can exchange more complex data (high security handshake) faster because of the wired connection.

So as they note in the linked article, what gets stored in the businesses records is a unique code for that transaction. It can be matched to your card by the credit bureau, but can't be used to counterfeit your card.

So hacking a businesses computers won't get any useful data. Neither will "skimmers fitted to ATMs or the like (and they'd be a lot harder to build)

I know they're not the same. The tap to pay is still kinda newish here. My card has both features, as do many cards here now. The tap to pay is kinda a pain in the ass some places tho. Where I used to work you would have to pick up the machine to use it and people would have card in hand and pick up the machine with the same hand, triggering the tap feature. One person did it with their wallet in hand and ended up paying with their visa by tap which was in their wallet as opposed to their debit in their hand. Now there is a max tappable amount, and sometimes even if you tap it will still prompt for a pin just for added security.

[Chromatix]

Yes, I'm wary of the "tap to pay" feature myself, precisely because it seems to be so easy to accidentally pay for something. Oh, the scam potential...

Chip & PIN, however, works fine on both sides of the counter.

[Bardmaiden]

My partner has had a chip and pin card for about ten ish years as he lived in the area it was trialled in in the UK so I saw a card with a chip in ages before I had one.

[KellyHabersham]

Just got a debit card with a chip in it today - had some checks to deposit, the bank's ATM couldn't/wouldn't read my card, and a very nice woman who worked there got me a new one.

[siskaren]

I've seen the choice of tap to pay on machines here, but I don't know how many merchants here will be prepared for the chip thing. I know my bank is currently offering to switch cards to the chip card for free. I want to do it, but I'm not sure if the stores I usually shop at will be able to take the payment that way.

My credit card company sent me a chip card a few months ago. At first, only Walmart could read the chip, but now Target can, too. I don't shop at a lot of other places, but they all seem to have the readers for the chips, but according to what I was told at Kohl's, they just don't have the software yet. But since the card still has a magnetic strip as well, I have no problem using it at places that can't read the chip.

[Canadian In Maine]

One person did it with their wallet in hand and ended up paying with their visa by tap which was in their wallet as opposed to their debit in their hand. Now there is a max tappable amount, and sometimes even if you tap it will still prompt for a pin just for added security.

This is how I first discovered the tap feature. I was making a purchase of less than $10 and intended on paying using cash. I put my handbag on the counter and when I did the stores machine scanned my bank card which was still in my wallet in my purse.

I left the store and promptly drove to my bank and raked them over the coals for even putting the feature on my card without my knowledge or permission. They turned it off right away but they informed me that Visa would not deactivate it on my credit card.

I realize that there is a purchase limit for security reasons with the tap feature but when all is said and done if I am defrauded for $5 or $500 I have to go through the same bullshit to get my money back.

I despise the tap feature.

[NYTCRAWLER94]

I'm sure some SCs will complain about the change

I'm already seeing complaints/warnings about it on YouTube, tbh

[greek_jester]

This is how I first discovered the tap feature. I was making a purchase of less than $10 and intended on paying using cash. I put my handbag on the counter and when I did the stores machine scanned my bank card which was still in my wallet in my purse.

I left the store and promptly drove to my bank and raked them over the coals for even putting the feature on my card without my knowledge or permission. They turned it off right away but they informed me that Visa would not deactivate it on my credit card.

*snip*

I despise the tap feature.

I don't know how accurate this is (tech guys?) but in the UK you can buy foil-lined wallets to avoid this. Supposedly a cheap alternative is using tin foil to make a pocket for your card in your wallet.

[Food Lady]

I just got my chip Target card. It looks like one of those fake cards in a credit offer; I feel like I can't take it seriously. I have to set up a PIN...for a credit card. That's weird to an American.