PRESQUE ISLE — The County Federal Credit Union has begun issuing new custom debit cards embedded with chip encryption technology.
The new cards began being rolled out on April 27.
According to credit union officials, EMV technology — which stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA — has been around for a few years in Europe. The chips embedded in the cards make them more secure and harder to access by thieves, whereas traditional magnetic stripe cards are easier to hack, and therefore prime targets for counterfeiters to turn into instant cash.
“The County Federal Credit Union is excited about the new technology that will help keep our members’ information safer and more secure,” said Ryan Ellsworth, CFCU president and CEO.
“Unlike magnetic-stripe cards, every time an EMV card is used for payment, the card chip creates a unique transaction code that cannot be used again,” Ellsworth explained. “If a hacker skimmed the chip information from one specific point of sale, typical card duplication would never work because the stolen transaction number created in that instance wouldn’t be usable again and the card would be denied when the thief attempted to use the information.”
To help acquaint members with the coming technology and some of the new procedures that will be required, CFCU has included a special bulletin on its website. The bulletin states that some merchants already have terminals designed for chip cards. Instead of swiping the card the customer will insert it, chip side up, into the terminal, leaving it there until the transaction is finished.
While the new debit cards will contain a small rectangular embossed chip, they will also have the familiar magnetic stripe on the back, states the bulletin, as not all merchants have upgraded their equipment yet. At older terminals, the customer will simply swipe the card as usual.
For credit union members, new EMV cards will be issued based on the expiration date of their current card.
For more information, visit www.CountyFCU.org.
