Comments on: Smart Credit Cards 101: Chip-and-PIN FAQs

By: Sophie

Sophie — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:05:46 +0000

That’s an interesting point, Terry. If it’s hard to prove what measures you take to keep your PIN secure, then consumers may be held liable for unauthorised use of their card. Is that fair, do you think? Anyone else had similar notifications?

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 05:03:30 +0000

I just received notice from DinersClub (Mastercard, now owned by Harris Bank in Montreal) that I’m getting a CHIP & PIN card. Further, I am liable for all charges where a PIN was used. Here is the quote from their letter:

“Please memorize your PIN and keep it confidential. As an example, do not keep your PIN with your credit card or in your wallet. If you do not keep your PIN confidential, you will be responsible for all purchases and cash advances where a PIN was used. Please review your Card Agreement for further details regarding liability.”

They did not send a revised card agreement and I’m pretty certain the existing one won’t talk about Chip & PIN. Anyhow, IMHO, they are simply trying to get out of paying for fraudulent charges by making the customer liable. It’s going to be quite difficult for any consumer to prove they protected their PIN if it was compromised and I believe it could be easily compromised since it is my understanding it is actually encoded on the card itself, not to mention a high definition camera pointed at the terminal at appropriate angles, etc.

Part of their claim is you don’t have to hand your card to the sales person. Well, I haven’t had to do that in quite some time because all the stores have the card swipe terminal right in front of you. The notable exception being restaurants where I don’t see this solving the problem anyway. PS: The card still works in regular magnetic strip reading terminals and has no additional security.

Regards,

By: Raymonds Life

Raymonds Life — Thu, 11 Nov 2010 23:16:13 +0000

i love the chip pin terminals here in Australia. i actually opt to use it instead of my debit card linked to my bank account. My sisters debit card got skimmed and they eptied her ENTIRE bank account in a few days. There’s card insurance for both the debit and credit cards, but i find the credit card ones easier and faster to settle. My sister was in hell for 2 weeks before her bank paid back (most not all!) of her savings……she’s still fighting with the bank to get the rest of her money.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:02:23 +0000

Actually savings will trickle down to end users one way or another…via points and having more to work with. So my guess is, this will help a lot.
Regarding remembering your PIN, we in the US have to do it daily for our Debit cards. And another point is that you can reset your PIN attempts after calling a customer service rep, so I wouldn’t worry too much about forgetting your PIN.
Now the funny part is, that the US will start getting slammed with fraud. Why? Because till it gets its act straight and make EMV mandatory, all fraud will be taking place here in our homeland. One word of advice to all FI’s and retailers, work on changing to the EMV tech, else it doesn’t make sense…. :)

Plus, i’m sick of constantly having to change my card due to fraud at this gas station or at this store, etc. I would rather use a highly encrypted card for my transactions…..

By: Lee

Lee — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 20:24:38 +0000

I think chip-and-Pin is a good idea for credit cards. I think it would cut the costs and risks of fraudulent credit card use. I would welcome it gladly.

By: psychsarah

psychsarah — Wed, 19 May 2010 16:30:28 +0000

The chip and pin terminals are becoming common in Canada, but they read both types of cards at this point. My card has not been updated to a chip and pin card yet, but I imagine when it’s time to renew (next year) I’ll get one.

From what I’ve read, they give credit card companies way more benefit than consumers. I’ve read (don’t know if it’s true) but if they can prove that you used the same pin for more than one card, then they aren’t responsible for any fraudulent charges because it wasn’t a unique pin (and therefore not secure). I don’t know about you, but I have a limited repertoire of pins/passwords I use (the human brain can only keep track of so much arcane information) so I’m concerned about this clause. I know it was a pain for credit card companies to look up the signatures if you disputed a charge, but at least its harder to forge a signature than steal a pin!

By: Stephan

Stephan — Wed, 19 May 2010 15:38:45 +0000

Those savings definitely wont trickle down to us consumers, but this is definitely a more convenient way of using a card. Its only a matter of time, the old cards are becoming outdated, and once enough people get these new PIN based cards, retailers will invest in the new equipment. That being said, this could take 2 or 10 years.