While the mode of payment card security is still up for debate in the United States, France’s Oberthur Technologies is looking towards the future.
Oberthur Technologies has devised a battery-powered payment card with an e-ink screen that generates a new CVV every 40 to 60 seconds.
Its purpose is to make it nearly impossible for anyone who has stolen a consumer’s card data to use it for fraudulent purposes online.
For countries who have long already moved to chip and PIN cards, this would stem the rates of CNP fraud.
The United States is set to move to chip and signature cards in October. Proponents of chip and PIN, such as Walmart’s assistant treasurer and senior vice president, Mike Cook, has stated, “Signature is worthless as a form of authentication.”
A combination of chip and PIN along with a constantly changing CVV would help shore up weaknesses in both in-person and online transactions.
The issue is cost, as actually deploying these cards would mean a 10-fold ($10-$20) increase in what banks are currently paying (~$1) for EMV cards.
The US is still wrestling with chip and PIN versus chip and signature, but advancements such as these may find themselves in consumers’ wallets in the near future.
If financial institutions choose to make the investment, these new cards could be ready by the earliest in 2017.