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Quote:
Originally Posted by soitgoes
In looking around my online State Department FCU account today, I discovered that SDFCU also offers a prepaid chip/pin debit card (issued through PSCU).
EMV Cards Support International Purchases, Carry Magnetic Stripe for Use in U.S.
St. Petersburg, Florida – (July 2, 2012) – PSCU is the first to issue VISA Prepaid EMV cards in the United States. Several PSCU credit unions will begin issuing the new cards later this summer and more than a dozen credit unions plan to deploy prepaid EMV cards this fall.
Prepaid EMV cards deliver full debit card functionality and are designed for credit union members who are working, traveling, living or studying in Canada and Europe and other regions where EMV technology is the preferred method for payment processing. These versatile cards also contain a magnetic stripe for use in the U.S.
“We’re on a mission to keep credit unions in front of the demand curve,” said Michael Kelly, PSCU CEO & President. “That means decisively seizing emerging technology opportunities to give our credit unions a leading role in the payments market. We are the first financial services provider to launch Prepaid EMV cards in the U.S., and we’re empowering credit unions to attract more members and reach consumer segments that need both domestic and international spending power.”
Users of VISA Prepaid EMV cards avoid the inconvenience of purchase declines at merchants that only accept EMV cards. Cardholders also gain stronger security with enhanced card authentication, cardholder verification and transaction authorization. Secure data storage on the chip and issuer-specific keys make the card nearly impossible to counterfeit. The PIN authenticates the cardholder and acts as a second level of security in case the card is stolen. While magnetic stripe authorizations contain the same encrypted code for every transaction, EMV chip authorizations are processed using unique encrypted data codes specific to each transaction.
Chip authentication is proven to reduce transaction fraud and positions credit unions to avoid VISA’s liability shift to issuers, which is scheduled for 2015. These fully featured cards can be personalized or non-personalized and sold in branch or on a website. Value can be loaded onto the cards from a website, IVR, branch, using debit/credit cards, account transfers from checking/savings accounts or through direct deposit.
From this, one can gather that if your credit union's services are provided by PSCU then chances are high that you can get a prepaid EMV Chip-and-PIN card.
Now let's see how the big name banks react. Maybe Chip-and-PIN debit cards will be on the way as well?
Like I said, competition rules.
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During a conversation with a Chase CSR about my Sapphire Preferred, I asked if they had a chip and pin or chip and signature version of the card. He said they are not offering either, and had no plans to do so, but they're looking into chip and pin, as that's what people want and it better deals with issues people call about.
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The process is not that complicated with State Department FCU. I applied online, had an email the next morning asking for the last two pay stubs and a signature on an application form
The process, apparently, is not that complicated for several credit unions as long as you have normal direct employment income which produces pay stubs.
But what if you had no pay stubs (because you're self employed, a per-project-biling contractor, unemployed but investment income, etc)? Would it still have been as easy at State Department FCU then?
The "complexity" part of this thread started a handful of posts ago when someone who doesn't have pay stubs (because of their manner of income, not because of their lack of income) tried to apply somewhere. Perhaps part of the complexity there was due to the specific credit union, but another part of the complexity sure seemed to be because they seemed to be set up only for people who work for an employer and get pay stubs.
Last edited by sdsearch; Aug 19, 12 at 11:34 am..
Reason: spelling
The process, apparently, is not that complicated for several credit unions as long as you have normal direct employment income which produces pay stubs.
But what if you had no pay stubs (because you're self employed, a per-project-biling contractor, unemployed but investment income, etc)? Would it still have been as easy at State Department FCU then?
The "complexity" part of this thread started a handful of posts ago when someone who doesn't have pay stubs (because of their manner of income, not because of their lack of income) tried to apply somewhere. Perhaps part of the complexity there was due to the specific credit union, but another part of the complexity sure seemed to be because they seemed to be set up only for people who work for an employer and get pay stubs.
Yes, this is exactly right. If you are a salaried worker (only - no other sources of income), the process is only a little more complex than applying for a credit card from a big national bank. Basically you'll have two extra steps: 1. signing a form and scanning/emailing it back or faxing it back, and 2. scanning/emailing or faxing your last two pay stubs.
If you are "self-employed" (as defined by the credit union - and they seem to define any non-salaried income that way), you'll also have to supply your last two years' FULL federal tax returns. That was too much for me, but if you have the time and inclination to fool with that, more power to you.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by free101girl
...supply your last two years' FULL federal tax returns.
I don't understand why any financial institution would accept tax return copies provided by the applicant. These can easily be falsified. They should require a form 4506 or 4506-T.
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Though diverging OT, but I believe there were strict restrictions about credit unions lending money to business owners. A credit card is technically a "loan" persay, so they may not have the legal flexibility to do much compared to the big banks.
It's only recently that small business owners have started complaining about this to the US government as more big banks are unwilling to lend money to business owners.
The Credit Union Small Business Lending Act (H.R. 4191) is bipartisan legislation introduced by Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) and Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), that would make it easier for credit unions to participate in the SBA small business loan programs.
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CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fifth Third Bank (Nasdaq: FITB) has launched a Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) compliant chip for commercial cards that will allow business clients to authorize transactions more efficiently while traveling abroad and help improve the security of international transactions. This new offering will help commercial card users facilitate authorizations in Canada, Europe and other countries that are EMV-compliant and help reduce the risk of counterfeit and stolen cards through more secure chip and Personal Identification Number (PIN) technology.
Since it's just commercial cards now, won't bother adding it to the list.
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Wishing the US had more high-speed rail...
So who's tried a US chip and signature card at a gas station in France?
I leave for Nice this weekend. Will have a car for a week and then have to return at NCE before taking an early flight out Sunday morning. So that means possibly refilling at 5 AM or so.
Will be staying in Cannes so not sure refilling there the night before and driving to NCE will leave the tank full.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wco81
Hmm, so my Chip and Sign does have a PIN.
Your card may have a PIN assigned for the purpose of obtaining cash advances from ATM's. If I recall correctly the examples in which entering that PIN to make a purchase were not petrol pumps in France. This matters because the pumps apparently use "offline" verification, meaning that the PIN you enter is compared to the PIN stored in the chip. This should fail with a USA-issued Chip & Signature card because the cash advance PIN is stored in the issuer's servers, not in the chip.
Yeah the credit union person said if I use the PIN at a bank or ATM, it's treated as a cash advance, since I get cash out.
But for regular transactions, it won't be assessed finance charges.
However, that doesn't say anything about how the PIN is stored. She did say they can't change it at the branch.
It's all new so they probably aren't familiar with which kinds of transactions are supported.
That's strange, what is the point of having a chip if you're not going to store all the details. If the encryption is good enough for the account number, it should be for the PIN too.
They can't assume POS terminals will be online, otherwise the things are pointless.
So what kind of EMV cards is BofA and Citi issuing again? Hopefully Visa clears up all this hassle soon.