FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - USA EMV cards: Availability, Q&A (Chip & PIN -or- Chip & Signature) [2012-2015]
Old Mar 6, 2013 | 8:00 am
  #843  
mia
Flyertalk Posting Legend Moderator: Credit Card Programs, American Express, Capital One, Chase, Citi, Diners Club, Eco Travel, Signatures
10 Countries Visited
20 Nights
2M
20 Years on Site
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Miami, Mpls & London
Programs: AA, IHG & Marriott Platinum; DL & HH Gold
Posts: 51,833
Originally Posted by joshwex90
How could a signature be a better way of authenticating than by a PIN
No one claimed that it is. The claim is:

in the U.S., we can rely on online processing where transactions are transmitted in real-time to the issuer for approval. With that in place, there’s no need for the offline authentication that was the genesis of chip-and-PIN.
Whether you or I agree with VISA is unimportant. You asked if they understood the value of Chip & PIN and I pointed you to their statement explaining that Chip is good value for money while PIN is not. This doesn't help those of us who want Chip & PIN cards for travel, but it suggests we are unlikely to see PIN used for domestic transactions. If you read the link to the other thread you know that implementing PIN is complicated and expensive.
mia is offline