In our Nov. 2nd post we introduced Near Field Communication or NFC technology. We also included a video in our Nov. 3rd post that featured NFC “wave and pay” payments at self-service terminals. Because the future appears to be chip-enabled, I wanted to provide information about Chip and PIN payments today.
Chip and PIN replaces traditional magnetic stripe readers on credit cards with smartcard technology. Debit and credit cards contain an embedded microchip that is authenticated using a 4-digit PIN. Chip and PIN payments are more secure and require just a few simple steps:
- Customers insert their card into a PIN pad terminal
- Enter their 4-digit PIN
- PIN entered is checked against the PIN information stored on the card
- If the two match, the transaction is complete, no signature required
The UK, France and other European countries are reducing credit card fraud through the use of Chip and PIN payments rather than traditional magnetic stripe payments and dozens of other countries are adopting the technology or have plans to do so. The U.S. has yet to adopt the technology, but the chip-enabled future is upon us and we may need to change with the times.
Let’s Get Mobile! Contact DecisionPoint Systems, Inc. for more information about mobile payment solutions.