You may have noticed at Target or most other stores, instead of swiping your card, you are asked to stick it into the machine. This is due to the new microchips on credit and debit cards that are steadily replacing the magnetic strip on the back.
The purpose of the chip is to ensure better security. With the old cards, the strip held one code that fraudsters could steal and copy. The new chips produce a new code with every use, thus reducing the risk of fraud. Dave Witts, president of US payment systems for Creditcall, claims duplicating a chip card couldn't work "because the stolen transaction number created in that instance wouldn't be usable again and the card would just get denied."
But does this guarantee complete security? Confidential information can still be stolen, but it will be significantly harder to do so. Chip cards have already been tested and proven widely around the world, notably in Europe. So what took America so long? Most retailers haven't had machines capable of reading chip cards, and didn't want to pay for them. But now, retailers who don't accept chip cards will be liable for any fraud occurring as a direct result.
What do you think of these new cards? Do you, like many other consumers, feel uneasy about leaving your card in the machine for so long? Do you think businesses should have been forced to make large investments to pay for these new machines? Tell us your thoughts below.
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