Credit Card Chips

We jokingly talk about microchips being programmed into everything nowadays. Well now our credit cards will have microchips programmed in them, we can only imagine what's next. To many consumers confusion, many banks have mailed out new credit and debit cards for consumers to replace their current one. Microchip credit cards are a completely new thing for the United States. 

What does this mean for consumers?

For the most part consumers can go along their merry way buying and using their cards just as before. However, there is a slight learning curve to the new cards. Instead of just swiping a magnetic strip they will simply insert their card to a machine for a couple of seconds and potentially prompted to sign or enter a pin number.

What does this mean for companies?

Retailers reacted quite negatively to this change. For retailers this could mean potentially millions of dollars spent on new machines that are compatible with the new credit cards. For higher end stores that sell more expensive items there is more liability therefore more urgency to get these new devices. 

Why the switch?

The switch to the microchip cards vs. magnetic strip is due to more security. With retailers like target and others having issues with customer security the need for a more secure transaction is needed. The new cards work in a way such that every transaction is given a unique code making it less more difficult for hackers to commit fraud. 

Works cited:

Jones, Charisse. "Ready or Not, It's Credit Card Chip and Dip Time: What You Need to Know." USA Today. Gannett, 01 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.