As the switch to chip card technology in the United States is underway, it appears that financial institutions are taking the easy way out when it comes to security.
A majority of the banks in the US are offering chip and signature cards to their clients, rather than the more secure chip and pin cards.
Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell has voiced his concern over the ongoing overhaul of credit and debit card technology. He believes that America should catch up with the rest of the world and use chip and pin technology, rather than the half measure of chip and signature technology that is the upcoming offering.
“The deployment of EMV chip cards in the United States represents an important step forward. But we should not stop there,” Gov. Powell said. “New approaches to authentication increasingly offer greater assurance and protection. Given the current technologies that we have at our disposal, we should assess the continued use of signatures as a means of authenticating card transactions.”
Security should be a priority and US banks should be all in – and stop making excuses.
His opinion is enthusiastically supported by Debra Berlyn, the President of Consumer Policy Solutions. She states that “the notion perpetuated by the financial industry that consumers do not want or cannot handle remembering a PIN is a baseless decision.”