Huh? "Not really" what?

The field of membership served by the UNFCU likely spends a lot of time abroad, so UNFCU added C+P capability to make their members happy. Just because they haven't opened their membership scope to the general public is more a commentary about their growth strategy, not the benefits (of lack of benefits) of adding C+P.

Translation service
 

I understood DLNYC to mean that he is not welcome to get a credit card from UNFCU because he does not meet the requirements to join.

That is what I meant. I could have been more clear. Thanks, mia.

If you were truly a dedicated Flyertalker you would resign your current position and go to work at the UN. You already live in New York, what's the problem? ;)

Would it be an overstatement to say that it's increasingly doubtful we'll see Chip & Pin in U.S.? :rolleyes:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...308129984.html

But what about us Luddites who refuse to go down the path of smartphones and expensive dataplans? :D

Replacing cards is a lot less expensive that replacing ATMs and point-of-sale machines.

I've always heard of smartphone purchasing as being in addition to cards, not instead of cards.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8320/4.5.0.81 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Dumb question. I have a Slate Visa with "blink." Is this the same type of chip and pin we're talking about, like the ones in Europe?

Blink is an entirely different technology. It uses an RFID chip to authorize a transaction. No PIN is used and the card only needs to be near the reader. The Chip & PIN system discussed in this thread requires the card to be physically placed inside the reader, the chip becomes part of the circuit, and the PIN is stored in the chip (not on the network).

This said, there are RFID payment systems in (at least) the UK, but in my experience they are not compatible with the chips in USA-issued RFID cards. I tried to use a Chase Freedom card at several UK merchants and the chip was not recognized by their RFID sensors.

It sucks not be able to use US based cards in Europe, especially for train tickets because I can't get them to work in a lot of the super convenient automated ticket dispensers. No, sometimes, I have to use cash, or go wait in long queues with other low life, scum, deadbeat, pathetic, ordinary people. Hymmph!

Replacing cards argument is flawed because it is assuming that all cards in the US has to be replaced at the same time. No, all it needs to be done is to make it as a payable option for those that want one. Free cards: mag-stripe only. Those that are more secure conscious or who travel frequently abroad: pay X amount of dollars for a hybrid mag-stripe/contactless/Chip and PIN card. It's simple as that.

Many POS already have Chip & PIN capabilities; take a good look at the swipe terminals next time you visit a 7-Eleven, the US Post Office, Bank of America, Walmart, BestBuy, etc. etc... you should see a slot near the top or the bottom with a Chip and PIN reader. Those POS terminals are just machines, therefore they too have its own wear and tear and will be replaced when they need to anyway. And when they install new ones, Chip & PIN functionality is already built in even if its not being used in the US. Think about it; do you think its economically feasible for Ingenico or Verifone to manufacture a specialized POS terminal just for the US (swipe only), or much cost efficient to mass produce POS terminals aimed at the world wide market (swipe and Chip & PIN) and sell that to both the US and the rest of the world?

Although there aren't general market US banks with EMV, some, like HSBC, do offer US$ cards with EMV in other markets, such as Jersey. If you are HSBC Premier and you really want a chip/pin card your acccount rep may be able to help. I have one, but I also have had the accounts for a long time.

Nope. The Chip and PIN is the one you see here:
http://www.ana.co.jp/amc/reference/anacard/ichiran/

You see the gold computer chip thingy on the left of the cards? That's Chip & PIN, the fastly-becoming global standard of payment in the rest of the world except the US, Mongolia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Iran. Sad, really; sometimes I don't know if the US is just a developing country masking itself as a fake developed country.

And, there's nothing technologically impossible to incorporate contactless ("BLINK" or PayPass, or whatever), Chip and PIN, mag-stripe in one single card. The ANA VISA Suica card on that webpage is just that; it has embossed numbers for those old imprinters, it still retains the mag-stripe on the back because not all POS terminals in Japan have Chip & PIN yet (gradually phasing out as end of life of those swipe only terminals get replaced to newer ones), it has Chip & PIN, and it has contactless feature to ride on JR trains all over Japan. All this for a low JPY 2100 annual fee (USD 25 at today's exchange rate).

My $80 annual Citibank AA Mastercard seems like a huge rip-off as it can only handle two forms of antiquated paymenst: the embossed numbers and the mag-stripe.

I don't think this makes any difference unless the network to which those terminals are connected is configured to use Chip & PIN validation, and that's where the big expense will be. I think we will see USA-issued cards with chips for use in other countries much sooner than we will see the chips used in the USA.

EMV cards also cost about three times what the old-fashioned one do. In the US the merchant acquirers, who arrange for merchants to accept cards, often provide the equipment free while in most other markets merchants must pay for their own. fraud has not been large enough in the US to justify the change. MC and Visa are fighting for adoption, but it won't happen immediately. Now that Canada is finally doing it the US may get EMV in another four or five years. May.

Interestingly, the new Slate card mentioned above lacks the traditional embossed numbers. It has some much smaller numbers that are in a portrait orientation. They're slightly embossed, but not enough to work with an old imprinter.