Marquette Savings Bank is always looking to find the best ways to keep your ATM/Debit, or credit card secure. Banks across the country have started implementing a new type of ATM/Debit card that uses a “Chip” to access your account when making withdrawals, or purchases versus the old Magnetic Strip technology. So, how does it work, and why should it matter? Marquette is here to help explain it all!
What is it?
EMV -- named after the three companies who invented it; Europay, Mastercard and Visa. It involves an ATM/Debit or credit card equipped with computer chips, and the machinery necessary to process transactions using this new technology.
How do EMV chip cards work?
The new “EMV” cards feature a small, gold metallic square computer chip along one edge of the card. It is this piece of technology that sets it apart from traditional magnetic stripe cards. During a transaction, the computer chip inside EMV cards, and generates a unique transaction code that will only be accepted once.
Because the code for each transaction can only be issued once, your card cannot be re-used by criminal “hackers” to steal money from your account. If they try, their attempt is cancelled before they can complete the transaction.
Because of this technology, card transaction theft is on the decline. From April 2015 to April 2016, Mastercard reported a drop of 58% in counterfeit fraud at merchants using the EMV technology. As a result, ATMs, gas pumps, and many vendors are in the process of updating their Point-of-Sale (POS) systems to accommodate this more secure technology.
Marquette Savings Bank is replacing all ATM/Debit cards as they expire with the new chip technology. Get more information on protecting your accounts here.
