Tired of ads? Subscribers enjoy a distraction-free reading experience.
Click here to subscribe today or Login.

Wyoming Valley consumers will need to make room in their wallets for high-tech credit and debit cards.

The new cards are called Europay Mastercard Visa cards, or EMV, and have a computer chip embedded inside to help prevent transaction fraud.

Over the past five years, mega-retailers such as Target, Home Depot and Staples have all fallen victim to security breaches when hackers retrieved customer credit and debit card information. Target’s security breach in December 2013 comprised 110 million consumers accounts.

Signatures and pin numbers were not enough to protect consumers.

EMV cards will still have the black magnetic strip on the back, embossed account numbers on the front, Peter Curtin, regional manager at PNC Retail Banking in Scranton said.

What is different is a computer chip inside the card.

The chip is designed to issue an encrypted and unique transaction code every time it is used for in-store purchases, Jeffrey Chiampi, a computer science instructor at Penn State Wilkes-Barre in Lehman, said.

Some EMV cards are pin-based while other are programmed to request a customer’s signature to complete the transaction authorization, Chiampi said.

“There are different types of chip cards,” Chiampi said. “It depends on the bank.”

Merchants wanting to offer credit and debit card payment options will need to upgrade their card terminals, Curtin said.

All businesses are required to have updated EMV terminals by Oct. 1, according to regulations set by MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express. After Oct. 1, liability for fraudulent card-present transactions will fall on either the card issuing bank or merchant, depending on who is not EMV-compliant, Curtin said.

To process a card, it is first swiped, through a card reader. The terminal will then prompt a sales clerk to insert it into a slot on the terminal until it beeps, said Mary Rakowski, owner of Agway in Dallas, also known as Back Mountain Feed and Seed.

Renee Cragle processes Shavertown resident, Charles Leo’s EMV card at the Agway in Dallas.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL090415chipcards12.jpg.optimal.jpgRenee Cragle processes Shavertown resident, Charles Leo’s EMV card at the Agway in Dallas.

EMV readers will be required at all businesses wanting to offer credit and debit card payment options.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_TTL090415chipcards22.jpg.optimal.jpgEMV readers will be required at all businesses wanting to offer credit and debit card payment options.

Chiampi
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Jeff-Chiampi2.jpg.optimal.jpgChiampi

Curtin
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Peter-Curtin_PNC2.jpg.optimal.jpgCurtin

By Eileen Godin

[email protected]

Reach Eileen Godin at 570-991-6387 or on Twitter @TLNews.