Dive Brief:
- Only 10% of Americans has received a credit or debit card enabled with an EMV chip so far, according to a poll from GfK Public Affairs and the Associated Press.
- Of those respondents who already have EMV cards, 35% have used them in a chip-and-PIN terminal, while 30% say they weren’t sure how to use the card.
- Almost half (46%) of survey respondents say they don’t know why EMV cards are being introduced, and 22% doubt that the move would aid payment security.
Dive Insight:
A new survey says that the U.S. is not adopting European-style chip-and-PIN cards as quickly as might be necessary to meet the October 1, 2015 deadline set by the major credit card companies, keeping the risk for fraudulent activity high.
Last year, the U.S. accounted for nearly half (48%) of $16.31 billion in global losses from credit, debit and prepaid cards. Data breaches in the U.S. contributed heavily to counterfeit transactions, which EMV cards are more effective at blocking in-store than mag-stripe cards. Nonetheless, more U.S. consumers expressed concern about the security of their personal information when shopping online (45%) than when shopping in-store (40%).
Whether or not consumers are ready, the liability for fraudulent transactions will shift away from issuing banks in October. After the deadline, the liability for credit card fraud will fall upon the least EMV-compliant party in any transaction. Retailers wishing to avoid losses would be wise to promote EMV adoption and be prepared to help customers learn to use the new cards.
