I'm curious: can anyone with one of the US PIN-preferring credit cards (UNFCU or First Tech) tell me what their card agreement states for thier liability in the case of signature, PIN, lost/stolen or card not present?
I ask because I have two PIN-preferring cards here in Japan, and while I know several people here want a PIN-preferring card for the additional security, PIN actually scares me on the liability issue here. With my cards here, you are protected in the case of lost/stolen. You specifically carry 100% liability for a PIN transaction, since the assumption is even lost/stolen + good PIN meant you were reckless and did not protect your PIN. And I assume the article posted above with the FUNcard would probably result in the consumer's liability since it's in the agreement that a PIN transaction is the customer's liability. I've also come to find out that card not present fraud is generally the customer's liability. Several issuers specifically cover this, but the majority do not. In summary: even with chip and signature in the US I feel far more secure than I do with my chip and PIN cards in Japan!