As Big Banks Prep for EMV, Fraud Relief Remains Far Off

From American Banker –

“Large banks and card issuers are ready for the U.S. shift to chip-and-PIN technology, according to a report issued Wednesday. But the drop in fraud that is expected to result is unlikely to come any time soon.

The use of EMV-style chip cards is supposed to make retailers like Target less appealing targets for hackers because they will be storing less card data. However, the way the U.S. is implementing EMV leaves plenty of room for the continued use of fake cards. And there is a plethora of ways hackers can use stolen card information without using a physical card.”

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EMV Is No Payment Security Panacea

From eSecurity Planet -

“On Oct. 1, 2015, the U.S. will become the last G20 country to transition to EMV technology, which leverages a chip in the payment card instead of a magnetic stripe to authenticate a transaction.

The benefit of EMV lies in the dynamic nature of the data; because the chip creates a unique code for each transaction, it isn’t possible for criminals to use stolen credit card numbers to create fake EMV cards like they can with magnetic strip cards.

As Ovum senior analyst Kieran Hines notes, it’s not going to be an easy or inexpensive change to make. "Migrating to the EMV standard involves replacing or modifying all mag-stripe only credit and debit cards, as well as the PoS (point-of-sale) terminals and ATMs that they are used in," he says.”

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How the Target data breach could boost mobile payments

From Mobile Commerce Daily

“Following Target’s recent data breach, the retailer announced plans to speed up its transition to the chip-based payment standard called EMV, a move that could give mobile payments a boost.

The transition to EMV, which uses chip-based cards and requires special terminals and readers necessary for processing, has been slow in the United States compared to many other markets, where it is already commonplace. However, because EMV promises enhanced security attributes over magnetic stripe cards, some U.S. retailers have new found enthusiasm for installing the necessary hardware, with expectations that many will also install the contactless readers needed for NFC-based mobile payments at the same time.’

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2014 to be Watershed Year for U.S. Payments as EMV Chip Card, Mobile Payments Ramp Up in Retail and Transit

From WSJ Market Watch

“A dramatic payments evolution is underway in the U.S., bringing consumers new, secure and convenient ways to pay with EMV chip cards and mobile devices in retail and transit. More than 600 individuals leading this payments transformation - including card brands, banks, merchants, mobile wallet providers and transit agencies - gathered last week at the Smart Card Alliance 2014 Payments Summit to collaborate on making 2014 a year of significant progress.”

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Sometimes, cash still matters

From Mobile Payments Today

“Suzanne Cluckey, editor of sister publication ATM Marketplace, recently traveled to Germany and thought she'd plan ahead by ordering an EMV-enabled card. But as she soon found out, there's more to that whole user experience than meets the eye.”

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U.S. ATM Fraud Losses Jump

From Bank Info Security 

“Fraud Migrating to Non-EMV Markets

ATM-related fraud losses are increasing in the U.S., and experts say that trend will continue until all U.S. debit cards make the conversion from magnetic-stripe to EMV chip and PIN.

ATM-related fraud losses are migrating away from regions where the Europay, MasterCard, Visa standard has been adopted and are shifting to markets, such as the U.S., where magnetic-stripe transactions remain the standard, according to the European ATM Security Team's biannual fraud update, which was issued July 25.”

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