# Did you know Oct 1 is the deadline to switch to chipped credit cards? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2015, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093 "2015-09-30T23:38:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/21 "2015-10-01T03:54:07Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > The pay points I’ve used recently know if your card has a chip. If your card has a chip, and the pay point can use it, it did not allow me to swipe the mag stripe. Target does this. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/22 "2015-10-01T12:15:52Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Are you sure it is a chip reader slot? I ask because after encountering the “YOU MUST USE THE BOTTOM SLOT” thing at Wal Mart, I went to my grocery store (a large enough chain) and they had new readers with a bottom slot - for EBT only. No chip credit cards there, only EBT cards. I still gotta swipe my chip card. > > Anyway maybe Aldi just has EBT reader slot thingies. Maybe. It looked exactly the same to me as the one I’d seen at Target 20 minutes earlier…but I’m not the most observant of technological details. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/23 "2015-10-01T13:11:50Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > ok, I wasn’t aware there were three types of cc. I’ve just heard the unwavering mantra of how unsecured and bad magnetic strip cards are. The drumbeat has been going on for at least a decade. Mythbusters even did a test on eel skin wallets a few years ago. They debunked that one. > > thank you for clearing that up. Mag strip cards are a security problem because the only authentication is a scribbled signature on the back that nobody checks. As a recap to most, there are (up to) 3 factors in authentication: Something you have Something you know Something you are _Technically_ conventional cards are 2-factor, since you often need to physically present the card, and the signature that goes with it is a form of biometrics. But it’s a really terrible form, and nobody ever really checks it, so current cards are effectively 1-factor authentication. Plus, when you buy online it’s truly 1-factor auth. Chip and pin cards elevate security substantially by being true 2-factor authentication – you need the card (something you have) AND the pin (something you know) in order for it to work. Chip and signature cards, like they’re rolling out here, are worth fuck-all. I don’t know why anyone is bothering, except marketing bullshit. (Maybe that’s a bit harsh, I’m sure it’s slightly harder to forge a chip card than a mag strip card, but I was under the impression that forged cards are a negligible aspect of CC fraud.) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/24 "2015-10-01T13:23:15Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > (Maybe that’s a bit harsh, I’m sure it’s slightly harder to forge a chip card than a mag strip card, but I was under the impression that forged cards are a negligible aspect of CC fraud.) Counterfeit cards are, according to [these statistics](http://www.statisticbrain.com/credit-card-fraud-statistics/), responsible for 37% of fraudulent transactions in the US. If nobody is going to look at the card (to use at something like a gas pump), it’s _extremely_ easy to copy one right now. The machine costs something like $100 and plain white cards are maybe 2 cents each and can be used over and over again. ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/25 "2015-10-01T13:35:33Z")
Some time after I received a replacement credit card with a chip, the local Trader Joe’s upgraded their credit card terminals, which included a screen that said the terminal accepted stripe, chip, apple pay and android pay. I tried to use my chip credit card, but it didn’t work. When I told the cashier, they said, “Oh, that part’s not set up yet.” Then don’t have the terminal tell people that they can use it!! :smack: I wish everything would just change over to chip and pin. This whole “do I swipe or dip or insert” thing is driving me crazy. Plus I have one card with only a stripe, one card with both, and a card with only the chip, so I have to remember which one does which. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/26 "2015-10-01T13:36:34Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Counterfeit cards are, according to [these statistics](http://www.statisticbrain.com/credit-card-fraud-statistics/), responsible for 37% of fraudulent transactions in the US. > > If nobody is going to look at the card (to use at something like a gas pump), it’s _extremely_ easy to copy one right now. The machine costs something like $100 and plain white cards are maybe 2 cents each and can be used over and over again. Ignorance fought. However, writing to a chip card is also extremely easy, as my DoD Id cards (same basic technology only zounds more secure because it’s encrypted and requires a pin to read) can be written to by any old $20 card reader. I’m guessing the difference here is that there’s additional information stored on the chip card that’s used to authenticate that’s not typically stored in databases. The usual vector of hacking a database full of CC numbers and then writing them to disposable cards probably won’t work, but if you stick a chip card into a compromised reader I’m guessing it’s completely trivial to clone it. ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/27 "2015-10-01T14:31:26Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > And, technically, there are two types of EMV cards. The chip-and-signature cards we’re getting in the US and the chip-and-PIN cards used in Europe. Why do you guys keep talking about what they do in Europe when they do the same thing in a country just north of you? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/28 "2015-10-01T14:36:37Z")
Canada has been using chipped cards for years. Yesterday at my local Walgreens pharmacy (in California), I swiped my magnetic strip (and chipped) card to pay. The clerk told me no, I had to re-do it and now have to insert my card into the chip reader. Chips are here, to stay, for some time anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/29 "2015-10-01T14:39:52Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > > > And, technically, there are two types of EMV cards. The chip-and-signature cards we’re getting in the US and the chip-and-PIN cards used in Europe. > > Why do you guys keep talking about what they do in Europe when they do the same thing in a country just north of you? There’s a country just north of us? ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/30 "2015-10-01T14:51:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > There’s a country just north of us? They call it Canada but really it’s a suburb of Detroit. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/31 "2015-10-01T15:10:33Z")
Yes. I used the chip-reader slot yesterday and a couple of days ago, only to be told they don’t work and that it might be a few weeks until they do. I had to use the magnetic strip. Saturday Mrs. L.A. kept trying to swipe her card at Home Depot and it wouldn’t work. _Their_ chip-readers do work. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/32 "2015-10-01T15:37:50Z")
I’m zero-for-five for receiving new chipped cards. A week or two ago I was in Target and they couldn’t get the chip reader to work at all. The two people in front of me both resorted to using old/alternate cards without chips so they could pay. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_Tightlips](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/57b2e6/32.png) [@Joey\_Tightlips](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_Tightlips)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/33 "2015-10-01T17:37:53Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > A week or two ago I was in Target and they couldn’t get the chip reader to work at all. The two people in front of me both resorted to using old/alternate cards without chips so they could pay. I had that issue at Walmart the first time a few weeks ago. The cashier knew enough that the swipe would no longer work, but we both kept trying to put the card in the slot and pull it out quickly. In hindsight, _of course_ that wouldn’t work, it’s not like the strip anymore dummy! I ended up using a debit card that day instead, but now I’ve since realized that when you use the chip you have to \*\*\*leave it in the slot \*\*\*until it says “Transaction Complete”. They really should put tidbit in big bold letters at the top of every article on this subject, it will save every shopper a ton of time in the future until we all get the quick swipe out of our muscle memory. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/34 "2015-10-01T17:43:55Z")
I was at Target a couple of weeks ago and didn’t leave the card in the slot long enough. It seems a much slower process than the old one of just sliding the card. I wonder if that will be an issue for places with many quick transactions. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/35 "2015-10-01T18:52:22Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > The pay points I’ve used recently know if your card has a chip. If your card has a chip, **and the pay point can use it** , it did not allow me to swipe the mag stripe. The new card readers can read both mag-stripe & EMV cards; however, just because a merchant has installed the new hardware (card reader) doesn’t mean that it’s live yet. If that’s the case, you have to continue to use the old swipe reader on the side. Once that merchant/location goes live, you’ll need to ‘dip’ your EMV card & won’t be able to swipe that EMV card at that location anymore. There will be lots of confusion over the next months (year?) as to what you should do with your card at a given merchant (swipe vs. dip) as the industry ramps up to this. The big thing with the Oct 1 date is the liability shift for fraud from issuing bank to merchant. However, that’s transparent to the consumer as it’s still ‘someone else’. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/36 "2015-10-01T18:55:52Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > The new card readers can read both mag-stripe & EMV cards; however, just because a merchant has installed the new hardware (card reader) doesn’t mean that it’s live yet. If that’s the case, you have to continue to use the old swipe reader on the side. Once that merchant/location goes live, you’ll need to ‘dip’ your EMV card & won’t be able to swipe that EMV card at that location anymore. > > There will be lots of confusion over the next months (year?) as to what you should do with your card at a given merchant (swipe vs. dip) as the industry ramps up to this. This confusion is literally nothing compared to using Apple Pay or similar things. If a pay point wants you to dip your card and you swipe it, the reader will tell you to dip your card. If you want to use your phone to pay and that feature isn’t enabled, you sit there like a doofus holding your phone up to the box until the clerk tells you, “uuuuuuhhhhhhh, that doesn’t work here, or something.” ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/37 "2015-10-01T23:12:13Z")
> [@Skywatcher](#): > > This. > > The only place I’ve encountered a pay point chip reader so far is the local Target. Our Walmart, CVS and Walgreens has them. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/38 "2015-10-01T23:54:00Z")
Are they doing away with the cards that you just wave close to the scanner? They were advertised heavily. Supposedly very convenient for quick purchases. I can’t recall which bank advertised them. I’d never use one. I can’t see charging $3.78 on a cc or debit card for a Coke, chips, and gum. I use cash for anything under $20. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/39 "2015-10-02T01:13:02Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Are they doing away with the cards that you just wave close to the scanner? They were advertised heavily. Supposedly very convenient for quick purchases. I can’t recall which bank advertised them. > > I’d never use one. I can’t see charging $3.78 on a cc or debit card for a Coke, chips, and gum. I use cash for anything under $20. They do make “dual ported” EMV chips that can be used by inserting into the card reader or by just waving past a suitably equipped card reader. EMV cards that use this chip are being promoted in exotic lands such as Canada. But in the US, the contactless cards that were available prior to EMV were a complete flop. For the most part, US banks are not going to the expense of using the dual ported EMV chips. There are a few smaller issuers, but the big issuers (notably, Chase which was a big proponent of the earlier cards) are not doing it. However, US banks are hoping that smart phone payments will take off, so they are promoting the contactless payment terminals among merchants. By the way, earlier in the thread the contactless cards were referred to as RFID cards. They are actually NFC cards. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093/40 "2015-10-02T01:23:05Z")
> [@Joey\_Tightlips](#): > > but now I’ve since realized that when you use the chip you have to \*\*\*leave it in the slot \*\*\*until it says “Transaction Complete”. They really should put tidbit in big bold letters at the top of every article on this subject, it will save every shopper a ton of time in the future until we all get the quick swipe out of our muscle memory. Hehe I went to Home depot and swiped my card. The tiny little 16 year old girl cashier said “Your card has a chip, you have to insert it in the bottom part.” I dutifully started to insert it and she turned away. Suddenly her head snapped back and she yelled “And leave it in there until it said you can take it out!” several dozen decibels louder than anything I was expecting her to say. She saw the shocked look on my face, and I think it was much louder than she had been expecting to say it as well. So I think you are probably right on that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-you-know-oct-1-is-the-deadline-to-switch-to-chipped-credit-cards/733093.md?page=3)