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by tyoma 4640 days ago
The US is getting chip cards in 2015 [0], although it looks to be chip and signature.

As another poster pointed out, chip and pin is not foolproof and may present a nasty liability shift to consumers when it comes to fraud.

There are also more practical issues with chip cards. First, merchants will be requires to buy new chip capable card readers. They will not be happy about it, but they'll be forced into it by their merchant agreements. Second, chip transactions take noticeably longer to process. From my casual observation a swipe takes 1-3 seconds, but chip readers took at least twice as long. Sounds silly, but it can really add up if there is a long line.

[0] http://www.transactionworld.net/articles/2011/november/innov...
2 comments
aianus 4640 days ago
The idea is to use chip and pin for high value (>$50) purchases and PayPass/PayWave for amounts under that. That way you can pay for small purchases faster than cash while making large purchases more secure.

Unfortunately, at least in Canada, it seems like merchants were only obligated to buy the chip terminal so a lot of smaller businesses didn't bother with the wireless payments and force you to type in your pin for a $7 pita.

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derekp7 4640 days ago
I usually swipe my card while items are still being scanned. Most card readers allow this. Would this not be possible with a chip card reader? i.e., does it use a private key on the card to sign the whole transaction (including final dollar amount)?
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jacobr 4639 days ago
In Sweden, I 1) insert my card, 2) enter my pin, 3) pack bags while waiting for total, card left in card reader, 4) accept
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aianus 4640 days ago
I would assume it does. Here in Canada I have to approve the total before it asks for my PIN.
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willvarfar 4639 days ago
On the screen of a terminal that may be tampered or bogus, you mean?
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aianus 4639 days ago
No, on legitimate ones. You put the chip in the reader, it tells you the total amount, you hit OK, then it asks for your PIN, then the transaction goes through, then you take the card out of the reader. I don't think there's any way to pay before the reader knows the final amount.
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