Security
What is a Chip Card?
Chip cards are credit and debit cards embedded with a microchip on the front and the traditional magnetic stripe on the back. They are also known as "chip," "smart," or "EMV" cards. EMV (named for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa) refers to a set of standards that enables the acceptance and processing of chip-based payment cards at electronic terminals.
Chip cards provide strong transaction security when used at a chip-enabled terminal. This added layer of security can help minimize cardholder impact due to counterfeit fraud or when a data breach occurs.
Chip technology is already used in over 80 countries around the world. The implementation of chip card technology is now gaining momentum across the U.S. It will become the standard in the U.S. as the number of retailers accepting chip cards continues to grow.
How to use your chip card?
Chip cards are based on a global standard called EMV to combat the high rate of counterfeit card fraud that is possible with current magnetic stripe technology.
Your Associated Credit Union chip card can now be used four convenient ways:
- At chip-enabled merchants.
- At merchants that aren’t yet chip-enabled.
You can still swipe your card to pay just like you have in the past. - At an ATM.
With a PIN, you can use your card to access your account at any ATM. At chip-enabled ATMs, simply leave your card in the machine until your transaction is complete. - For phone or online transactions.
