CBS – The good news for American credit-card holders is that the U.S. is shifting to EMV cards, albeit slowly. In October 2015, credit-card standards go into effect that will change how liability falls between credit-card issuers and retailers. EMV compliance won’t be mandatory, but liability for fraud will become the problem of the party that hasn’t upgraded their systems. That’s prompting credit-card issuers to send out cards with EMV technology, while retailers are scrambling to get their systems ready.
Still, recent studies have found that retailers are behind in upgrading their systems, with consulting firm The Strawhecker Group predicting that only one-third of U.S. merchants will be ready for the new cards by the October deadline.
The EMV cards that Americans are now receiving aren’t without their faults, however. They still include magnetic strips on the back, allowing stores that haven’t upgraded their technology to continue to “swipe” the cards, for instance. Consumers who buy through online vendors still have to enter their card numbers, providing another option for fraud.
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