Chip and PIN Credit Cards

There are no Capital One chip and PIN credit cards. All new Capital One credit cards are chip and signature cards, just like the vast majority of credit cards issued in the U.S. As the name suggests, chip and PIN cards require the cardholder to enter a number at checkout, while chip and signature cards require a signature instead. Chip and PIN cards are a bit more secure because forging a signature is easier to do than figuring out someone’s PIN. Despite this, chip and signature cards are still the majority of the market in the U.S. Outside of the U.S., chip and PIN cards are much more popular. Don’t worry about your card not being accepted abroad, though. Foreign merchants are supposed to take your card regardless of whether or not you have a PIN.

When you have a Capital One card in the U.S., the only time you would need a PIN is for a cash advance. That’s when you use your card to withdraw money from an ATM. But be careful, as cash advances come with high fees. To get a PIN, request it online or call Capital One at (844) 348-9142.

There are no Chase chip-and-PIN credit cards. All Chase cards issued as of May 2019 are chip-and-signature credit cards. They have a small computer chip embedded inside just like chip-and-PIN cards. The difference is in how you verify your identity when you use the card. With a chip-and-signature card, you have to sign your name when you make a purchase. A chip-and-PIN card requires a four-digit PIN (Personal Identification Number). Naturally, it’s easier to do a false signature than to find out someone’s PIN. So chip-and-signature cards are slightly less secure than chip-and-PIN cards. But both types are more secure than cards that only have a magnetic stripe because they encrypt the data more.

Most chip cards issued in the U.S. are chip-and-signature cards. Chip-and-PIN is much more popular abroad. But you can use Chase chip-and-signature credit cards pretty much anywhere in the world where chip-and-PIN cards are accepted. Merchants are supposed to accept your card even if you don’t have a PIN. You might have trouble using a chip-and-signature card at an automated terminal, though.

Most American Express credit cards are chip-and-PIN, but some use chip-and-signature technology instead. Credit cards issued by American Express all have chip-and-PIN capability, including the Amex Blue Cash Everyday, the Amex Cash Magnet Card, as well as American Express Platinum card and the Amex Gold Card cards. But chip-and-PIN capability varies among cards on the American Express network that are issued by other banks. For example, the Wells Fargo Propel is a chip-and-PIN credit card, while the U.S. Bank Cash 365™ American Express® Card is a chip-and-signature card. Both types comply with EMV (Euro Mastercard Visa) standards for chip-based cards.

Chip cards are embedded with a computer chip for added security. The difference is in the cards’ verification method: the cardholder’s signature or a 4-digit PIN. Chip-and-PIN cards are more secure than chip-and-signature cards because signatures required for purchases can easily be forged, and often go unchecked. Guessing someone’s PIN isn’t so easy. Both types of chip cards still provide better protection than cards that only have magnetic stripes. That’s because chip cards are encrypted in a way that makes it nearly impossible for anyone to access the card’s information, so long as the card is inserted into a reader rather than swiped.

Most chip cards issued in the U.S. are chip-and-signature cards. Chip-and-PIN cards, however, are the standard in most other countries. But you can still use a chip-and-signature card abroad with few issues.

For a more comprehensive picture of chip-and-pin American Express cards, you can check out these lists of recommendations for both consumer and business credit cards.

Chase Sapphire Reserve® is not a chip and PIN card, it’s a chip and signature card. When it’s time to pay, you’ll have to insert your card into the machine (or sometimes swipe it), and then you may be asked to sign the touchpad or receipt to confirm the transaction. But you can still use Chase Sapphire Reserve most places that accept credit cards around the world, including most terminals equipped to accept chip and PIN cards. Chip and PIN is common in a lot of countries, like pretty much all of Europe, Mexico, Canada, South America and Asia. And Chase says Sapphire Reserve cards will work fine there.

Here’s how to use Chase Sapphire Reserve with chip and PIN terminals:

• U.S. terminals often require only a swipe or chip insertion. And if they ask for further verification, it’s typically a signature, not a PIN.
• If you encounter a merchant who asks for a PIN, Chase says to tell them your card doesn’t need one. 
• If an unmanned kiosk asks for a PIN, you should be able to bypass it by pressing “Cancel,” “Enter” or “Continue.” 
• If the merchant or terminal really won’t take your card without a PIN, you may have to just pay in cash or use an alternate card. 

It’s also good to note that if you’ve been a Sapphire Reserve cardholder for a long time, you could have an older version of the card that only has a magnetic stripe. If you request a replacement card, the new one will come with a chip. You can request a new card by calling Chase customer service at 1-800-935-9935 or by logging in to your online account.

Chip cards can be skimmed because of the magnetic strip that still exists on these cards. Skimming is a common scam in which fraudsters attach a tiny device, or “skimmer,” to a card reader. They tend to target places like ATMs and gas stations. When you use your card at one of these readers, the device intercepts and copies sensitive card information from the magnetic stripe. Thieves can then retrieve the stolen data and can either clone the card or sell the card number to other scammers. Information on a chip card’s embedded microchip is not compromised.

Magnetic strip cards are inherently vulnerable to fraud. Their flaws have led to the transition to chip-enabled, or EMV (Euro, Mastercard, Visa) cards, which offer tighter security measures to combat potential fraud and identity theft. However, many merchants in the U.S. still lack readers that can effectively process chip card transactions. As a result, credit cards and debit cards are still issued with magnetic stripes, and the security risks that come with them.

With that being said, all the major credit card networks offer a $0 liability guarantee for fraudulent credit card transactions. If your chip card is ever skimmed, you won’t be responsible for any fraudulent charges. In addition, federal law limits your liability to $50 if you report any fraudulent charges within 60 days of them appearing on your credit card statement.

There are no new credit card chip laws, because the government isn’t regulating the U.S. switch to EMV, chip-enabled cards. Nobody will get arrested or fined for using a credit or debit card without a chip in it, nor will merchants face legal consequences for not updating to EMV-compliant payment terminals.

The EMV transition in the U.S. is a push by the credit card industry to stop costly fraudulent charges, because research shows that EMV is a more secure and fraud-resistant payment method. There may not be legal consequences for merchants who don’t adopt chip-and-pin payment processing, but there are financial consequences. Since October 1, 2015, merchants operating without chip-enabled payment systems have been on the hook for fraudulent charges, rather than credit card companies.

Because of those changes, chipped credit cards are becoming commonplace. In 2018, 53.5% of card-present purchases in the U.S. were made using EMV-enabled cards on EMV-compliant payment systems, according to digitaltransactions.net. That’s more than a 10% increase from 2017. And 97% of all payment value in the U.S. happens on EMV-enabled cards, according to a 2018 Visa report.

The transition seems to be achieving its intended effect, too. Merchants with EMV-enabled payment systems have seen a 75% drop in lost fraud dollars since September 2015, according to a 2018 Visa study.

For now, gas stations are the only merchants getting a pass on liability until October 1, 2020. Even though credit card fraud at the gas pump is perceived to be on the rise, the mandate gave those retailers five extra years to become EMV-compliant. That’s because EMV upgrades to gas pumps can be more costly and invasive than upgrades at other types of retailers.

To use a chip card, insert the chipped side of the credit card into the slot at the bottom of the card reader, chip facing up. Keep the card in the reader and follow the instructions on the screen. When the transaction is complete, the screen will tell you to remove your card from the slot.

If the retailer has not yet switched to a chip card reader, you can still swipe the card’s magnetic stripe. The magnetic stripes on credit cards still work – but if the swipe is a fraudulent purchase, the retailer is on the hook for any losses if they haven’t upgraded their payment equipment to accept chip cards. That’s why most retailers have installed chip readers at this point.

How to Use a Chip Credit Card:

1. Insert the credit card into the slot at the bottom of the card reader, chip-side up. Make sure the chip goes into the slot completely.
2. Follow the directions on the screen.
3. Keep the credit card in the slot until the transaction is completed.
4. Remove your credit card when instructed. Depending on the retailer, you may be asked to sign for the purchase.

The chip in a credit card is a microprocessor, or tiny computer, that makes a credit card transaction more secure. These chips - also called EMV chips - are only about a centimeter wide, but they are powerful processors that generate a unique code that represents a single transaction each time you “dip” your card into a payment terminal. Once used, the code - also called a “token” - cannot be used for a future transaction. So if a fraudster attempted to intercept your chip transaction, they wouldn’t get anything of value.

Physically, EMV chips are made of very thin layers of glass with small circuits embedded between them. The layers are then bonded with a gold or silver contact pad, which also serves as a protective layer. So the chip itself is actually hidden behind the gold or silver layer you see on the front of the card. The chips aren’t much different from card to card, and all are capable of generating the unique (or “dynamic”) transaction codes.

Credit card chip technology has been used in Europe and other countries since 1994. But the EMV card transition in the U.S. only happened in 2015, along with the fraud liability shift from credit card companies to merchants who continued to allow magnetic stripe transactions. All credit cards in the U.S. still have magnetic stripes as a backup measure, but paying with your chip is safer overall, so it’s best to pay with your chip when given the option.

Chip cards are safer than traditional credit cards that only have magnetic stripes. The term “chip card” refers to a credit card that has a computer chip embedded inside it. The chip is the small, metallic square on the front of any recently-issued credit or debit card. When you “dip” a chip card in a reader (as opposed to swiping a magnetic stripe card), it creates a unique transaction code.

This technology is a major security upgrade from magnetic stripes. Data stored within the stripe never changes. So it’s easier for counterfeiters to copy that information and clone it onto an illegitimate card.

But it’s important to note that chip cards do still have magnetic stripes because not all merchants have card readers capable of accepting chip cards. As a result, chip cards are not as safe as they could be. The magnetic stripe could still be copied, allowing fraudsters to make purchases where a chip is not required.

Chip cards are also known as smart cards, or EMV cards. EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard and Visa – the companies that developed the new standard for card security and verification. Chip cards play a big role in that, making payments safer for all of us.

Here is why chip cards are safer:

• Difficult to clone: When you “dip” a chip card, it creates a unique code for that transaction. When you swipe a magnetic stripe, the same information is relayed every time, making it easier for someone to copy and misuse.
• Sophisticated encryption: Chip cards have encryption technology built right into the microchip. When a transaction happens, the chip creates a unique transaction code that cannot be used again and sends it to the issuer for verification.  
• Chip-and-signature vs. chip-and-PIN: Most chip cards distributed in the U.S. are chip-and-signature cards. They’re not as safe as chip-and-PIN cards because it’s easier to forge someone’s signature than to guess their PIN. Both are still safer than magnetic stripe cards.

Chip cards are safer than magnetic stripe cards, but the added security is only as good as the merchant’s ability to process chip card transactions. If a store does not have a point-of-sale device that’s chip-enabled, meaning there’s no slot for you to dip your credit card, then your transaction will be processed using the magnetic stripe on the back of the card. Your transaction will be less safe as a result.

Chip credit cards can be “hacked,” in a sense. If a thief inserts a “skimming” device into a credit card terminal, they can copy data from your credit card and later make a copy of the card. However, skimmers can only copy data from your card’s magnetic stripe, not its chip, which is much more encrypted. Therefore, any copy of your card will only have a magnetic stripe. That means criminals can’t use it any merchant that has a chip reader.

EMV chip cards enabled with contactless technology could also be at risk of NFC skimming. A contactless card uses NFC (Near Field Communication), a secure wireless technology that allows data to transfer from a mobile device to a card reader at a short distance. Someone close enough to you could use a scanning device to intercept the NFC signal and steal the card’s information.

In general, chip cards are safer than cards that only have a magnetic stripe. When you insert, or “dip,” a chip card rather than swiping it, the card’s built-in microchip and other security measures make it far more difficult for fraudsters to copy the card’s sensitive information.

Yet despite the security that chips provide, all chip cards still come with magnetic stripes. They’re necessary because not all merchants have payment terminals that can process chips. If a merchant does not have a chip card reader, you’ll have to swipe the card. This deprives you of the extra security protections built into the chip and leads to a greater risk of fraud.

It’s also important to note that cards with chip-and-PIN technology are more secure than chip-and-signature credit cards, yet most U.S. chip cards still come with the latter. They require a signature for purchases instead of a four-digit PIN. So if someone steals your card, they can forge your signature and make purchases.

If your chip credit card is hacked, skimmed or stolen, all major issuers have a $0 fraud liability guarantee on all of their credit cards. That means you won’t have to pay for the fraudulent transactions.