Dive Brief:
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s Sam’s Club membership warehouse retailer says it's launching a new credit card with “chip-and-PIN” security that will be available as of June 23. In such cards, a chip that spits out a unique code (or PIN) for every transaction is embedded. The technology is known as EMV — for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa — and has been nicknamed “chip and PIN.”
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The card will be a MasterCard issued by GE Capital Retail Bank that will accrue Sam’s Club reward points and is the first to be available through a major retailer in the U.S. Chip-and-PIN cards are standard issue in most countries in Europe and Asia.
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Earlier this year MasterCard and Visa Inc. said they would make efforts to speed up availability of the more secure cards, although they and retailers are still discussing fees, deadlines, and other details.
Dive Insight:
Credit card and payment security remain in the forefront of consumers’ minds. This first-ever availability of an EMV-enabled card by a major retailer in the U.S. will only put more pressure on further adoption of the security technology here.
