EMV Chip Edward Houseworth

EMV Chip Credit Card Payment System is a new technology introduced to debit and credit cards to improve security. EMV stands for “Europay, Mastercard, and Visa” because these are the companies that aided in the development of the chip. Credit and debit cards will continue to have magnet strips but will also now have a mini computer inserted in them.  The main difference between the magnet strip and mini computer is that the magnetic strip was static; by this I mean the information never changed. Every time you swiped your card the information stored in the magnetic strip was read and processed. This allowed for your money to be transferred from the bank to the company.  The EMV mini computer creates a new transaction code for every purchase you make.

            The EMV chip has affected a lot of businesses. With in the last few months businesses are being forced to upgrade their equipment to support this payment method.  This is a huge added cost for businesses. Not only do they have to purchase new parts for their cash registers but they also have to pay for the labor to install the parts. This has the potential to slow down business sales. It also may make some businesses seem out of date or unsafe to purchase products from.

            The EMV chip has huge social and personal implications. The main reason this technology was invented was to help prevent credit card theft. So far the technology seems to be very successful in doing that. If a thief is able to gain access to your credit cards information at one sale the information is almost irrelevant because your credit card will never use the same transaction code again. However, not everyone has switched to this payment method yet. With in the next few years, I predict, this technology will be as common as the magnetic strip. This is going to improve societies security greatly. It is going to reduce the amount of credit card theft significantly. This will take away the fear of credit card theft and make your money much safer.

            Along with this making everyone’s money much safer it also benefits an average consumer in another way. Credit card theft is very unlikely with the EMV chip but if it were to happen, the majority of the time, the blame is put on the financial institution. This is amazing news for the consumer. Now their money is safer than it has ever been and in the rare case that it is stolen the liability is put on the financial institution, not them.  

            The EMV chip is another technological step in improving societies overall safety and efficiency. Eventually it will be seen as a standard and be used all over the world.

Main Source: http://gizmodo.com/the-gizmodo-guide-to-the-new-emv-chip-credit-card-payme-1734011799

Video Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuh_LF-SQjE