Industry News

10/10/2011 - Payment chips made by Fiserv will now be further personalized using the Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) standards, a global credit card payments technology that helps prevent fraud from lost, stolen or counterfeit cards.

The American Bankers Association Journal reports that Fiserv is working to better protect business and personal accounts by replicating the security standards that are growing in popularity within the payment processing community.

"As the U.S. payments industry looks for ways to minimize card-related fraud loss and comply with new data security standards, EMV provides a next-generation alternative to magnetic stripe bank cards," Jorge Diaz, president of output solutions for Fiserv, told the news source.

With the newly personalized EMV standards, the microprocessing chips will be protected from fraud and identity theft. For example, the EMV chips require point-of-sale terminals to obtain a PIN before the card can be read, adding to a transaction's security.

There were approximately 12 billion EMV cards issued throughout the world as of the end of 2010, according to EMVCo, the organization that oversees EMV standards.

These adjustments are particularly welcomed by those who plan to travel abroad, as magnetic stripe bank cards without EMV technology are often rejected, leading to difficult situations both financially and emotionally. EMV chip cards are widely used in Europe, states CardRatings.com, and many services in these countries accept EMV payments. Americans without EMV-enabled cards can sometimes struggle while traveling in Europe, as many point-of-sale terminals on the continent are not compatible with magnetic stripe cards, including those on vending machines and self-serve ticket kiosks for trains.

This new technology will also continue to aid the implementation and broader use of near field communications, mobile payments and similar processes in the U.S., as this technology continues to grow in popularity but requires a set infrastructure to keep the system safe and secure.

EMVCo explains that EMV payment cards, also referred to as "smart cards," are equipped with tiny computer-style processors that are embedded with the personal information of the user and encryption for security. These smart cards are continually overtaking credit cards with traditional magnetic stripes as a payment method, since these cards can adapt to contact, contactless and mobile payment processing.

In August, CardRatings.com reported that Citi joined Chase, Wells Fargo and a number of other American Banks in providing EMV-enabled cards to customers who travel abroad most frequently.