EMV Chips & Why You Need To Know What They Are
The world of finances is growing and changing every day. With constant modifications in technology (such as Wireless Mobile Credit Card Processing,) the financial world has an added monkey on their back. EMV chips have been emerging in the world of credit card processing and it looks like they’re not only here to stay, but will continue changing as well.
So what is EMV and what are these EMV chips? According to the Smart Card Alliance, “EMV is an open-standard set of specifications for smart card payments and acceptance devices. The EMV specifications were developed to define a set of requirements to ensure interoperability between chip-based payment cards and terminals. EMV chip cards contain embedded microprocessors that provide strong transaction security features and other application capabilities not possible with traditional magnetic stripe cards.”
Basically, EMV chips are small microprocessors that are embedded in credit cards and debit cards to give added security and flexibility that the traditional magnetic stripe cards don’t offer.
Currently about 80 counties are integrating EMV chips into their credit cards. Although the U.S. isn’t booming with EMV chip credit cards yet, several issuing companies, including JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo are starting to issue them, mostly to their customers that travel internationally. So for example, if you are involved in Phoenix credit card processing, these may not be relevant just yet, but it’s a good idea to learn about them and stay ahead of the game.
Another thing to note is that currently EMV cards still have the magnetic stripe on them, so the cards can be used where the EMV chip is accepted as well as at regular credit card terminals.
The main thing to take away from EMV chips is that they offer priceless peace of mind. It’s a wonderfully calming feeling to know your information is safe and your financial interests are protected.
Leave a Reply