EMV might be silently coming to the US yet.
I just talked to a branch manager of my local Citibank who was quite well informed of the EMV/Chip and PIN topic (quite a surprise as most frontline employees have no clue about this)and that Citibank has become well aware of the problems faced by American travelers abroad.
The biggest push seemed to have come from complaints by Citibank clients living in cities near the Canadian border (Seattle, Detroit, Buffalo) who began noticing Canadian merchants on the other side of the border (Vancouver, Windsor, Toronto) being more reluctant to accept US issued credit and debit cards.
With increasing concerns, white papers like
EMV Implementation for Issuers: 7 Decisions You Must Make Before Issuing Your First Chip Card have been sent out to many financial institutions across the US, including Citibank.
Additionally, he even showed me something that I haven’t noticed: many POS terminals (made mainly by Ingenico) at banks and even the US Post Offices already are capable of handing Chip and PIN transactions. He pointed out to the discreet slot near the bottom side of the Ingenico swipe and sign terminal: there’s already a slot with a small logo showing a Chip and PIN card. Most people don’t notice this slot because it’s so discreet, but those that do know that it’s a slot for “more secure cards that will be issued in the near future.”
While he couldn’t give me with a date when Citibank will start issuing EMV cards for Americans, he did state that Citibank is working hard to address this problem and expects to welcome an influx of new customers from other banks when Citibank makes an announcement soon.
If this is true, big hoorah for Citibank and they’re sure to gain my business if they’re the first major US financial institution to get on board.