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USA EMV cards: Availability, Q&A (Chip & PIN or Signature) [2017>]

Old Jan 16, 2017, 10:23 am
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What is EMV?
EMV is a standard for smart (or integrated-circuit, or chip) cards and the devices that can accept them. The standards are maintained by EMVCo and based on ISO 7816 (or ISO 14443 for contactless).

These cards come in two flavours: contact and contactless. Examples below:
----------------------------------------------------------

Notice the contactless indicator on the right-hand side (it looks like a sideways Wi-Fi symbol). It may also be found on the back of the card (for example, on the back of the new Costco credit card).


Where can I get a chip card?

Hawaiian717 operates a website with crowd-sourced information about various cards. You can adjust the search parameters to see cards with contactless, have PIN-primary authentication, etc.

Which businesses accept chip cards?

tmiw operates a website, also primarily crowd-sourced, that tracks chip-enabled merchants on a map. You can see if a merchant supports PIN, contactless, Quick Chip, et al.

Why doesn't my chip card ask for a PIN?

This is likely because you have a signature-preferring card. At this time, PIN-preferring cards issued in the US are rare. Not many financial institutions offer them; most of them instead provide Chip-and-Signature cards, which are programmed to prefer signature over PIN, if the card supports PIN at all.

What is the difference between Chip-and-Signature and Chip-and-PIN?

To the cardholder, the only major difference is how they authenticate themselves at the point of sale. The cardholder inserts their card as normal; instead of signing a screen or receipt, they will be asked to enter their PIN on the keypad.

[spoiler]

A few financial institutions issue some form of Chip-and-PIN credit cards or prepaid cards. Prepaid EMV cards however are not recommended due to junk fees.

Why no PIN? (cont.)
American debit cards are unique because they are psuedo-PIN-preferring cards. which may work at many automated kiosks. However, bear in mind the word may is used above is a context where there is no absolute certainty of success for certain environments such as automated kiosks due to different natures of offline and online transactions.

What is the difference between Chip-and-Signature and Chip-and-PIN? (cont.)

Most cards issued in the US are programmed to prefer signature, so save very few instances, they will prompt for a signature (unless the merchant sets a signature waiver). A PIN may be necessary in countries with mostly PIN-preferring cards when using unattended terminals (such as pay-at-the-pump or mass transit). If the card has a PIN for backup verification or ATMs, then that PIN should work. Otherwise, the card will be rejected. If the card is rejected, then either a.) the transaction must be performed by an attendant or b.) an alternative payment method will be required.

Some credit union issued credit cards will have this CVM (Cardholder Verification Method) as secondary if Chip-and-Signature cannot be done. Chip-and-PIN is the more prevalent method of authentication used outside the US, especially in transaction environments where no human interaction is needed (i.e. automated gas pumps, toll roads, train kiosks, etc.).

One chip can hold a lot more data, therefore it is capable of doing multiple verification methods. That's one of the great things about EMV over the mag-stripe which can hold very little data.

I want to know for sure what my EMV chip does. Is there anyway I can test out my own EMV card to see what the CVM list is?
alexmt has written up a nice step-by-step procedure on Post #3615.

If most of the EMV cards in the US is the Chip-and-Signature type, doesn't that mean it's still useless abroad?
Depends if you see it as glass half empty or glass half full. See Post #3 for further details on how Chip-and-Signature has worked both successfully and unsuccessfully depending on the merchant transaction environment and use your best judgment whether which one is right for you.


I don't want a chip in my card. I heard horror stories all over the media saying hackers can steal my credit card info from a mile away.


There are two types of chips. One is contactless and the other is contact. Cards can be either one or the other, or both.

In the Google Docs spreadsheet, the cards that are capable of contactless payments are listed seperately under the "RFID or NFC contactless chip" column. If it says yes, then that means it has the ability to do contactless payments. If it says no, it doesn't have that feature.

The one that the media has overhyped about hackers "stealing your information wirelessly" was the contactless type like this:

You are worried about this happening, right?

You don't have to worry. EMV is a chip standard that can have both contact and contactless interfaces. With the traditional contact interface, this means you actually have to physically insert the chip into a POS terminal for it to be authorized, like this:

With the contact interface, nothing is wireless. No data is sent out in a stand-alone contact type EMV chip. With the EMV contactless interface, data is sent wirelessly.

Furthermore, contactless chip cards are required to show a symbol (looks like Wi-Fi symbol) somewhere on the card that to denote its capability as a contactless card. For example, here's an example of a Discover Card with contactless capability (in which Discover calls "Discover ZIP") showing the contactless symbol on the back of the card:

Don't believe everything that the media says. Besides, millions of people all over the world from London to Singapore, uses contactless payments daily in extremely crowded subways and mass transit with nary any problems. There are multiple layers of encrypted securities and keys that are needed to break the code.

Frankly, giving your physical card to a waiter/waitress who takes the card out of your view is much more susceptible to fraud than contactless payments.

Why should I care?
If you are an international traveler, you will want this because majority of the world has or in the process of converting to this payment format.

In fact, in 2012, even North Korea moved to the EMV format, leaving the US as one of the countries in the world that hasn't done so.

In addition, VISA, MC, AMEX, and Discover have all agreed to incentivize the USA shifting to EMV payments by 2015 by shifting liability for fraudulent transactions to merchants if they do not have EMV equipment and the cardholder has an EMV card. So if you travel internationally or would like to get one before the others, you might be interested in getting one.


BS! I had no problems using my card in [insert whereever country], [insert whatever point in time]
If you stick to the tourist path where they have lots of visitors from the US, you should have no problems using your mag-stripe only card in hotels and restaurants, at least for now. But as things can change as things go forward.

However, consider that once you start taking the off-beaten path, go to non-touristy places where they are not familiar with mag-stripes, rent a car and use toll roads, fill up gas, or try to buy train tickets you might end up into a trouble of the machine not recognizing your card because it lacks the chip. Furthermore, a lot of toll roads, gas pumps, and automated ticket machines lack any human assistance to help you when you need it the most.

But [insert credit card company] told me all merchants that display their logo must accept them! All I have to do is report them for violating their agreements, right?
There are several factors against this.

1. You can only speak English. The merchant representative, most likely a part-time clerk earning minimum wage, speaks in a different language, let's say French. If you have no French language skills, how are you going to get your point across? Are you going to whip out your cell phone at exorbitant int'l roaming charges and hope the customer service is going to translate it for you on the spot? Or maybe you might actually know French. But how about Swahili, Farsi, Balinese, or the multiple languages in mainland China?

2. Just like US, the rest of the world's businesses uses part-time minimum wage workers as cashiers to cut down on labor costs. Most of their SOP training manuals are written by MBA types to not to do anything they are not familiar with. Do not expect them to understand the intricate details of credit card mumbo jumbo. You don't expect Taco Bell employees to understand the minute details of Discover-JCB-Union Pay agreements, right? Same thing the other way around: be respectful as a guest in their country, prepare in advance in their ways, avoid being an "ugly American" stereotype.

3. You are a guest in their country. You are a minority. If 99.9% of their country's people and other tourists from around the world uses EMV, do you really think they are going to accomodate the 0.1% of American tourists who only have mag-stripes credit cards?

4. Again, you are a guest in their country. How would you, as an American standing in line, react if a Chinese tourist was clogging up the lines at a local Taco Bell because the clerk doesn't understand the Discover-Union Pay agreement and has trouble communicating between Mandarin spoken by the tourist and English spoken by the Taco Bell clerk? Same way the other way around. You do not want to clog up the lines for everyone. The less hassle, the better.

5. VISA and MC make tons of money from merchants in that country. Say SNCF French Rail. It's a billion dollar company in France. Do you think VISA is going to pull the plug of their relationship with SNCF because SNCF refuses to do mag-stripe processing at their unmanned train station kiosk? Of course not. Be realistic.

6. And lastly, if you're up against an unstaffed toll kiosk, gas pump or train ticket machine, are you going to yell curses at the machine?

But I want my credit card to be able to be used in the US too!
No worries. They have not gotten rid of the mag-stripe on the back of the card for backward compatibility reasons, just like we still have embossed numbers on our cards for backwards compatibility to using those old carbon copy imprinters.

[insert own Hyatt card image front and back together with red arrows pointing to all the backward compatibility features]

You use the chip on the front of the card abroad (for now), and the mag-stripe just like any other card for the US. Basically, you're increasing your credit card's acceptance rate by getting a card that both via the chip and the mag-stripe. You're getting a better deal for free.

And when 2015 comes along and US switches to EMV, you'll be way ahead of everyone else too!


So why did the rest of the world and the US moved/moving toward EMV?
Primarily, due to fraud concerns. You see, the mag-stripe has been with us since the 1950s. It may have been the most high tech thing back in the day, but with the technology that is available today, any shmo can pick up a $100 USB magnetic card skimming device off of eBay and get your credit card info.

And unlike skimming off contactless cards which actually need the person to have l33t programming skills, skimming off a magnetic stripe has become so ubiquitous that nary a day goes about skimming fraud going on somewhere in America, from gas pumps, Michael's stores (2011), Target breaches (2013), restaurant waiters/waitresses, to even McDonald's drive thrus.

https://www.google.com/search?q=skimming+fraud

These type of fraud used to be prevalent in Europe. But once they started switching over to EMV starting over 2 decades ago, this type of fraud went elsewhere. It went over to Asia, Canada and Mexico, Latin America, etc. etc. until they too began implementing EMV to combat skimming fraud. The US is practically the only country left that hasn't done so, therefore all the fraud that used to take place elsewhere is now happening here.


But EMV is old and it's not fool proof. Shouldn't we just skip over it and do something new instead?
Yes, EMV is old. It was developed in the 1990s, and its smart card payment predecessor was first introduced in France. But as of today, it has become the de-facto global standard of payments.

But then, what else is there? There is no other de facto global standard of payments alternative. For example, if we decide to skip over it and do something new, hypothetically like DNA matching technology, it still means US int'l travelers will continue to have problems abroad with useless plastic acceptance because no other country is using this DNA matching technology except the US.

Besides, nothing is fool proof. You can say that the bank vault isn't fool proof because you can crack it open if enough C4 is used. But your average low-life scumbag isn't likely to get military grade C4 easily either. But the bank vault does make it harder to get the bank's money over say a petty cash box. That's the point here. EMV is akin to a security tight bank vault, the old mag-stripe is akin to a petty cash box lying around inside the drawer.


I'm a business owner and I don't think EMV is going to take off. I'm not going to spend extra hundreds of dollars to upgrade my credit card machine. Convince me other wise why I should.
I can understand the added extra cost to your business once this switchover takes place. But before even saying that, look at your existing POS terminal. Does it have a slot somewhere to insert a card?

Most likely, if you had replaced your POS terminal within the past five years, you already have an EMV capable terminal. EMV is basically just not turned on yet from the processor and acquirer side.

If you have an EMV capable terminal, then a best bet would be to contact your acquirer to have the EMV feature turned on. You did your end of the deal already by having an EMV capable terminal, it is now the acquirers' responsibility to turn it on in accordance to the EMV switchover mandate.

And if you don't, you are going to replace your POS terminal anyway from common wear and tear. It isn't a hard switch-over. You can continue to use your POS terminal until it dies out because EMV cardholders will still have the mag-stripe on the back. And by the time your non-EMV capable POS terminal is up for replacement the market will be full with these newer POS terminals that can accept the mag-stripe, EMV, as well as contactless payments.

In addition, you may also want to check with your acquirer or processor about EMV capable terminals. Some of them are willing to replace your terminal for free in preparation for the US EMV switchover. Call and ask for details.


But what's in it for me? I'm the one that has to pay for the upgrade.
All the major card networks have given incentives for merchants for the upcoming EMV switchover.

If 75% or more of your credit card transactions are done on an EMV contact and contactless terminal, they are going to waive your annual PCI-DSS fees, which usually costs you around $5.00-$19.95/month per terminal. The overall long term cost savings of those compliance fees will be larger than the cost of an one time upgrade for the terminal.

The downside is that once EMV switchover happens and if you do not have a POS terminal that is able to accept EMV, the fraud liability shifts over to the merchant.
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USA EMV cards: Availability, Q&A (Chip & PIN or Signature) [2017>]

Old May 2, 2019, 10:08 pm
  #5086  
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Originally Posted by RedLight2015
No EMV At all at my Red Robin. Says Swipe or Tap, but tap means Samsung Pay. It has the new batteries too.
I feel like I've actually used NFC there at some point. I could be remembering incorrectly though.
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Old May 3, 2019, 4:52 am
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Originally Posted by tmiw
A bit of good news for those who rely on issuer scripting for PIN changes: Walmart still doesn't do Quick Chip as of today. They also didn't do anything to suppress PIN entry if preferred by the card (even for smaller purchases), but that might not affect all that many people.

Also, per this press release, only 60% of cards in the US are EMV enabled. That's lower than I thought, honestly. A chip only policy is definitely not a good idea right now.
I bet the press release is highly inaccurate. Do they have a source? I call garbage on that number considering EMV cards have been released for at least three years, if not many more... And cards expire.
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Old May 3, 2019, 9:26 am
  #5088  
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Originally Posted by mikesyr18
I bet the press release is highly inaccurate. Do they have a source? I call garbage on that number considering EMV cards have been released for at least three years, if not many more... And cards expire.
EMVco themselves have similar stats.
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Old May 4, 2019, 7:58 pm
  #5089  
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Texas Roadhouse has EMV now. Of course, no pay at the table or PIN/contactless (NCR Aloha with VX820s, themselves running default NCR software.) I think QC might have been used but I'll check cardpeek when I get home and update this post with what I find.

The annoying part is that contactless isn't physically possible at the takeout station either. I get not doing pay at the table for all of the reasons already mentioned but you'd think there would be a customer facing option somewhere. Photo:



I wonder if it's a side effect of the MC prohibition on tip adjust for contactless/PIN, despite that particular rule obviously not being enforced (e.g. with Square doing it for tapped transactions).
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Old May 4, 2019, 8:18 pm
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Originally Posted by tmiw
Texas Roadhouse has EMV now. Of course, no pay at the table or PIN/contactless (NCR Aloha with VX820s, themselves running default NCR software.) I think QC might have been used but I'll check cardpeek when I get home and update this post with what I find.

The annoying part is that contactless isn't physically possible at the takeout station either. I get not doing pay at the table for all of the reasons already mentioned but you'd think there would be a customer facing option somewhere. Photo:


I wonder if it's a side effect of the MC prohibition on tip adjust for contactless/PIN, despite that particular rule obviously not being enforced (e.g. with Square doing it for tapped transactions).
I'd figure it's just the "standard configuration" they're going with. Also if they also use that station for ringing up customers they probably want it where the rest of them are.
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Old May 4, 2019, 8:37 pm
  #5091  
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Originally Posted by HotelHacker
I'd figure it's just the "standard configuration" they're going with. Also if they also use that station for ringing up customers they probably want it where the rest of them are.
​From what I could tell, it was used only for takeout orders. (I was there much longer than I wanted for a takeout order.) Keeping things standard sounds reasonable as well.
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Old May 4, 2019, 10:37 pm
  #5092  
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To update, Texas Roadhouse did use Quick Chip after all per cardpeek.

I also used my Diners Club MC at PetSmart and Shell and both continue to not use QC (with the former being the only one to ask for PIN). Who knows how long that'll last, though. I need to go back to WinCo Foods at some point as well with a transaction log supporting debit card since the UI on the terminal changed since I was last there (quite a while ago), but I suspect they aren't using QC based on the terminal behavior.
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Old May 4, 2019, 11:14 pm
  #5093  
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Originally Posted by tmiw
To update, Texas Roadhouse did use Quick Chip after all per cardpeek.

I also used my Diners Club MC at PetSmart and Shell and both continue to not use QC (with the former being the only one to ask for PIN). Who knows how long that'll last, though. I need to go back to WinCo Foods at some point as well with a transaction log supporting debit card since the UI on the terminal changed since I was last there (quite a while ago), but I suspect they aren't using QC based on the terminal behavior.
WinCo isn't using QC. It is funny, the take out station at the Texas Roadhouse here in Reno has the register positioned in such a way that the pinpad is on the customer side of the counter but still attached to the register just like that one in your photo. I think I could attempt a Contactless transaction there.

Remember when In N Out had those attachments for their pinpads too?
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Old May 4, 2019, 11:21 pm
  #5094  
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Originally Posted by storewanderer
It is funny, the take out station at the Texas Roadhouse here in Reno has the register positioned in such a way that the pinpad is on the customer side of the counter but still attached to the register just like that one in your photo. I think I could attempt a Contactless transaction there.

Remember when In N Out had those attachments for their pinpads too?
FWIW, this particular location isn't on the MC site nor the Google Pay app's nearby stores list. I have seen some locations in other areas on the former, though, so it might still be worth a try.

As for In-N-Out, that was back when they were using the same terminals/software as Boston Market, right? (BTW, Boston Market still doesn't do EMV. I'm surprised they haven't make an effort to switch to something else by now.) I wish they'd allow the PIN pad to be handed out at the drive through but at the same time, at least they accept contactless at all.
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Old May 5, 2019, 12:22 am
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Originally Posted by storewanderer
WinCo isn't using QC. It is funny, the take out station at the Texas Roadhouse here in Reno has the register positioned in such a way that the pinpad is on the customer side of the counter but still attached to the register just like that one in your photo. I think I could attempt a Contactless transaction there.

Remember when In N Out had those attachments for their pinpads too?
Mine has it facing the customer as well.....but only says Insert/Swipe :-(
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Old May 5, 2019, 1:42 pm
  #5096  
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So I think EMV is actually enabled at Ike's Love and Sandwiches; the animation on the customer facing display shows a card being inserted. It just looks like they disabled service code enforcement and swipe on the card reader box instead (kept on their side of the counter, but at least from previous experience they will give it to you for mobile wallets).

Additionally, a second area location doesn't seem to have the hardware at all. I'm not sure what's going on there.
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Old May 5, 2019, 6:27 pm
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Originally Posted by tmiw
So I think EMV is actually enabled at Ike's Love and Sandwiches; the animation on the customer facing display shows a card being inserted. It just looks like they disabled service code enforcement and swipe on the card reader box instead (kept on their side of the counter, but at least from previous experience they will give it to you for mobile wallets).

Additionally, a second area location doesn't seem to have the hardware at all. I'm not sure what's going on there.
Our Ikes has customer facing VX805s with everything enabled. Im guessing its no standardized hardware. The funny thing is they USED to have the Cake POS that the California ones have.

Last edited by RedLight2015; May 5, 2019 at 6:33 pm
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Old May 5, 2019, 6:52 pm
  #5098  
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Originally Posted by RedLight2015
Our Ikes has customer facing VX805s with everything enabled. Im guessing its no standardized hardware. The funny thing is they USED to have the Cake POS that the California ones have.
Is it possible that they're in the process of switching? It'd explain why the second San Diego location doesn't have the EMV/NFC reader, anyway--no point in getting it when you're just going to swap the entire POS out in a few months.
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Old May 8, 2019, 10:54 am
  #5099  
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Looks like Logix FCU's cards might be PIN preferring (or at least support PIN for purchases). From this article:

“It’s easy to use, whether you’re in the U.S. or traveling abroad,” Meyer said. “We went with a Chip and PIN profile when EMV technology came to the U.S. That means you can use this card anywhere in the world, and it will meet that country’s requirements.”

The feature also helps boost security domestically, as many current EMV chip-enabled cards require only a signature to complete a purchase. With the addition of a PIN, members can rest assured their card data remains secure and can be changed quickly if the card number is ever compromised.
and their info page:

Q. Why do I have to enter a PIN when I use my chip credit card?
A.
Chip and PIN is the highest level of security provided on chip credit and debit cards. There may be some merchant terminals that will ask for a PIN to be entered with your purchase.

Q. What if I can’t remember my PIN when I’m traveling abroad?
A.
While traveling abroad, if you are asked for a PIN and cannot remember it, there may be a different terminal that will accept the magnetic stripe. Otherwise, you can call (800) 932-4003 to change your PIN over the phone.
(I'm not sure about the "some" wording above. It could either be taking into account the many US merchants that disable PIN for some/all transactions, or referring to unattended terminals. Additionally, the need to change the PIN over the phone if forgotten seems to imply only supporting online PIN.)

Eligibility seems to be simply living in one of AZ, CA, DC, MA, MD, ME, NH, NV, or VA (or being related to someone who's already a member). That all said, given that contactless is where the rest of the world is going, I'm not sure about applying for an account/card without it built in. However, Apple Pay (and probably other mobile wallets) do seem to be supported.
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Old May 8, 2019, 11:43 am
  #5100  
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On a separate note, it looks like fraud losses on UK cards due to fraud committed in the US dropped from ~33 million to ~17 million since 2015, making the US no longer the #1 country:



(source)

I'm surprised Ireland is as high as it is, though, but then again, that same source says that 85% of fraud abroad is CNP (so perhaps Ireland doesn't use 3D Secure all that much?)
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