Stores Making Shift To Accommodate Chip Cards
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- If you've started your holiday shopping, you may have noticed many store credit card machines look a little different.
Stores are making the shift to take debit and credit cards equipped with EMV chips. Target, along with several major banks, have already starting issue customers the chip cards to try to help cut down on data fraud.
"When they came with the chip technology I was like let's do it." Jill Riemenschneider from Hudson, Wisconsin said.
Riemenschneider had an unknown charge show up on her Target credit card earlier this year. She was given an EMV chip Target card as a replacement.
"I think the chip is the right way to go for security purposes," she said. "Anything we can do to protect our identity and security is the right way to go."
EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa—they started the chip card format. It's been in Europe for years, but has made its way to the U.S. to improve security.
"Your information is encrypted in a stronger way," University of Minnesota marketing professor George John said. "It's not as easy as it would be to take it off the magnetic strip where they can just read it."
John says stores had to switch over to chip card readers in October if they want to be protected in the event of credit card fraud.
"Historically the credit card company would pay but now if you don't have a chip reader the retailer will pay," John said.
Gas station pumps, however, are exempt from the October deadline.
"Because it's hard to take gas stations and have them replace all those card readers because they are built into their machines," John said.
Experts say chip credit cards do not offer increased protection when it comes to shopping online.