Since announcing our EMV migration roadmap in August 2011, Visa issuers have put what averages out to over 5,000 new chip-enabled cards in the hands of U.S. cardholders every day. As of March 31, the total number of Visa chip cards in market was at 3.5 million and growing.
We’re very pleased with the progress the U.S. has made over the past two years. With each new card, the U.S. payments ecosystem gets one step closer to achieving the improved security that EMV technology affords to consumers, merchants and issuers. That’s because when a chip is inserted into the payment terminal, the chip generates a code that is unique to that transaction. This code renders stolen payment information useless at the point of sale, reducing its value to criminals and shrinking counterfeit fraud. The opportunity that chip presents goes beyond security, and will enable new and emerging forms of electronic payment, such as NFC-based mobile payments.
“We are always looking for new ways to provide our customers with better ways to pay,” said Clifford Cook, chief marketing officer for U.S. Bank Retail Payment Solutions. “EMV is a secure and trusted technology that is in use globally. We’re excited to offer chip technology to our cardholders, adding not only an additional layer of protection to transactions, but extra convenience when traveling abroad.”
We have heard similarly positive feedback across the industry. And while 3.5 million cards represent a strong start, we know that there is still work to do before the U.S. is fully migrated to EMV. That’s why we’re working with financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to provide them with the guidance, tools and resources they need to help support their migration plans. We’re also actively participating in discussions with the various EMV industry groups to provide our input and expertise.
I frequently hear the question, “How long will it be until everyone in the U.S. has a chip card?” The ubiquity of chip cards is still a few years out, but we’re proud to be at the forefront of this evolution, working alongside other stakeholders in the payments ecosystem.
Posted by: Stephanie Ericksen, Head of Authentication Product Integration, Visa Inc. on May 28, 2013 at 4:48 pm
