I’ve often been asked if the United States will ever adopt EMV chip technology as many other countries have. My response has been, it’s not a question of “whether” the United States will begin to use chip technology but “when” and “how.”
At Visa, we have believed for some time that markets need to move toward dynamic authentication in order to carry payments into the future. As chip technology has been adopted around the world, debate has raged over whether the required investments are justified for the U.S. as well.
Recent developments have convinced us that the time is now right to put real incentives in the marketplace for contact and contactless chip technology to take hold.
With our news today, Visa is leading the way for the widespread commercial deployment of EMV technology in the U.S. The programs we are announcing are designed to enable dynamic authentication, improve fraud prevention, enhance international acceptance, and provide a commercial framework to support the acceleration of NFC mobile payments.
Many reading the news may be wondering “why now?” For several years, Visa has been talking with clients and merchants on this subject – and now more than ever before, we’re hearing confirmation that chip is the right direction for the U.S. Over the last year, for example, we’ve seen financial institutions issuing chip cards to international travelers. And some large merchants have already begun installing chip terminals.
We believe our program offers the right level of direction and encouragement for merchant and issuer adoption of chip — at the right time. With a commercial framework in place, our goal is to enhance security and support the next generation of payments.
Posted by: Ellen Richey, Chief Enterprise Risk Officer on August 9, 2011 at 5:50 am
