You may recall an earlier post that identified the security weaknesses with the “Chip and signature” process that U.S. card companies have been implementing over the last year. Well, it appears that Discover may be bucking the trend (and others may follow) so we may yet get to the more secure “Chip and signature” yet. From NACS Online:

Last week, Discover Chairman and CEO David Nelms announced the company would begin migration to chip and PIN technology to secure credit card transactions in the United States.

The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) applauded the announcement, noting that over the past year, merchants and law enforcement officials have questioned why U.S. banks and card networks chose to implement a chip and signature system in the U.S., rather than the more secure chip and PIN, which is used throughout the industrialized world to combat fraud and reduce card theft. Retailers have invested billions to install upgraded payment terminals to accept new chip cards while asking banks and card networks to meet that investment by implementing chip and PIN in the United States.

Kind of makes you wonder why they didn’t get it right the first time.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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