What's the point of these new credit cards with chips in them?

[nexus5rocks]

How do they prevent online fraud without a PIN?
Card numbers, exp dates, 3-4 digit security numbers can still be stolen and used.

 

[IronWing]

Liability for fraud gets transferred from the processor to the merchant if the chip is there but the merchant doesn't read it. Liability for fraud gets transferred to the issuing bank if it fails to issue chip cards. So liability transfer is the big thing.

 

[Svnla]

Chip cards = harder for criminals to use stolen CC/info to do frauds. "Harder", not impossible.

"If someone copies a mag stripe, they can easily replicate that data over and over again because it doesn't change," says Dave Witts, president of U.S. payment systems for Creditcall, a payment gateway and EMV software developer.

Unlike magnetic-stripe cards, every time an EMV card is used for payment, the card chip creates a unique transaction code that cannot be used again.

http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/emv-faq-chip-cards-answers-1264.php

 

[Spacehead]

How do they prevent online fraud without a PIN?
Card numbers, exp dates, 3-4 digit security numbers can still be stolen and used.

I think the "online fraud" part is key here for his question. I wonder this myself... does it do anything to help if you use you card for online purchases only? Somehow i doubt it.

 

[smackababy]

I think the "online fraud" part is key here for his question. I wonder this myself... does it do anything to help if you use you card for online purchases only? Somehow i doubt it.

It doesn't. But, you have to put your information in either a compromised site that doesn't encrypt the numbers or a shady site. The chips really only protect against fraud like that of what happened to Target.

And these chips suck. I feel sorry for the EU where they've been using them for awhile. They are slow, don't go in all the way most of the time, and require a pin... No thanks.