Oct. 1 is here - the deadline for businesses to have new credit and debit card readers that are chip technology-ready. Businesses that are not equipped with the new card readers are now financially liable for any fraudulent activities that may occur in their establishments.
The deadline was set by major card companies such as Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) and has been in the making for years. However, only half of credit and debit card users have their microchip cards, while only about 40 percent of banks and businesses have the new checkout machines, CBS News reports.
EMV chip-enabled credit cards protect against fraud better than magnetic-stripe cards because the chips can change codes every transaction, The Business Journal reports.
With the new card machine, instead of swiping, the card is inserted in a slot, and it has to stay inserted for the whole duration of the transaction. This added security also means that card transactions will now take longer, at least psychologically.
"The consumer experience is going to feel longer because you are leaving the card in during that time," said Stephanie Ericksen, Visa's vice president of risk products, CNN Money reports.
Another benefit of the new system is that most of the credit card readers also have Near-Field Communication (NFC), which is a technology that makes mobile payment systems such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay posssible, International Business Times reports.
