EMV Chip Cards Coming Soon to Branches

Within the upcoming months Dort Federal Credit Union expects to roll out EMV chip cards for our members. EMV (named after the companies who set the standard: Europay, MasterCard®, and Visa®) chip cards are more secure than magnetic strip cards, and are embedded with a microchip that stores and protects data.

EMV chip cards are more secure than magnetic strip cards because they have a square metallic chip embedded in them which, when inserted, sends a unique set of numbers to your financial institution that verifies your account. Whereas, a magnetic slide strip sends the same exact data to your financial institution each time you use it. The majority of fraud from magnetic strip cards comes from thieves scanning the cards and creating copies of the card, since the data on the card is easily accessible when hacked. The magnetic strip card is more susceptible to credit card fraud since it can simply be swiped by a magnetic reader, while the EMV chip card is more secure since the consumer has to insert it into a card reader. While EMV chip cards are more secure, they only have increased security when it comes to face-to-face transactions (point of sale purchases), not online transactions, so we still encourage our members to be cautious of online purchases.

Those with magnetic strip cards will still be able to use their cards since many retailers have kiosks with both a magnetic strip and an EMV chip reader. According to current surveys less than a third of all U.S. merchants have the technology in place to accept EMV chip cards for payment.

By the end of 2016 we expect to be able to create EMV chip credit cards at all Dort Federal Credit Union locations. For those that are planning on traveling out of the country soon, we will be able to exchange your magnetic strip card for an EMV chip card. Members who wish to do this can contact us and we will send a card your way. Dort Federal Visa Platinum cardholders will receive further information regarding their card conversion in the coming months. For now we are only converting our credit cards into EMV chip cards, and will release EMV chip debit cards at a later date.

Members that use either a magnetic strip card or an EMV chip card still benefit from zero liability for fraudulent purchases.