Transitioning to PIN requirement for credit

Chip-and-PIN Credit Cards — the Final Nail in the Coffin

Swipe and sign is already on its last legs — but there is one final piece of the puzzle that will likely speed up the demise of this time-honored ritual.

Already the default worldwide, Chip-and-PIN credit cards are becoming more popular in the United States — the last major market to adopt Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) payment processing.

These chip-enabled cards offer much greater fraud protection, since:

  • The embedded security chip is very difficult to clone.
  • The EMV card never leaves the customer’s hands.

Most important? Authorizing each purchase requires a personal identification number (PIN) that only the customer knows.

This final step is far more secure than requiring someone’s signature. As Chip and PIN becomes more widespread throughout the U.S., the retail and payment card industries will likely abandon swipe and sign forever.

The bottom line to your business is more frequent requests coming through your point-of-sale system for customers to enter a PIN, whether it be credit or debit.