topic Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips? in Credit Cards

Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

elegia — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:00:22 GMT

Several of my cards now offer EMV chips but haven't actively replaced my existing cards with the newer versions (have to request). What I want to know is, are there any drawbacks to the EMV chipped cards? I remember seeing something about a place not being able to read chipped cards, and was wondering if this was common or if there were any other problems I should know about.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Berk — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:02:26 GMT

Most of my cards are chipped and I have experienced zero problems.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Shock — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 16:49:47 GMT

There was a particular instance at the McDonalds drivethru where my Double Cash would not swipe, although it is a couple months old and barely used..I told her there was a chip but she didnt listen. She just kept swiping the hell out of my new card and eventually got it to work..not sure if this is due to her being an idiot, but I guess a potential draw back could be the card having both features, and the person using it not knowing what the hell to do when it doesnt work.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 16:56:45 GMT

Chipped cards will be the norm by the end of next year, and most people won't have an option anyway. But no real need to rush and get them, wait for the issuers to replace.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Anonymous — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:00:11 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
Chipped cards will be the norm by the end of next year, and most people won't have an option anyway. But no real need to rush and get them, wait for the issuers to replace.

Unless you plan on traveling internationally (especially to Western Europe), there is no rush to get EMV cards. Also, if you plan a Europe trip, you might want a Chip and Pin card instead of the usual Chip and Signature card that most banks here will be issuing. But there is no need for us to rush to get "chip" cards for domestic use and our card issuers will be rolling out replacements in the next year or so anyway.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Shock — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:02:28 GMT

Most places near me have switched out to terminals with a chip reader. However I wonder if this is chip and pin friendly, for people visiting the US, or only chip and signature friendly. I'm confused as to whether its the same technology or not in regard to the "chip part." Meaning, will they issue us pins, prompt us to create pins, or give us new cards that are chip and pin friendly?

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Lyythine — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:34:25 GMT

@Shock wrote:
Most places near me have switched out to terminals with a chip reader. However I wonder if this is chip and pin friendly, for people visiting the US, or only chip and signature friendly. I'm confused as to whether its the same technology or not in regard to the "chip part." Meaning, will they issue us pins, prompt us to create pins, or give us new cards that are chip and pin friendly?

I have two cards with "chip" technology. Both cards were sent a corresponding PIN to use which I can change but havent done so yet. The chip & signature is a bit different than chip & pin in that one you sign a receipt and the other, much like a debit card, you simply enter your pin.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

mongstradamus — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 17:40:57 GMT

I don't know if i am not understanding how to use emv chip cards properly, but some places i shop have the reader on the bottom i think you are supposed to slide in your card, but none of them work so i just slide it the old fashioned way.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Shock — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 19:56:48 GMT

Yes, I get the obvious differences lol. But if our cards are only chip and signature, will they just issue us pins later on? Will the new terminals need to be replaced again with ones that are chip and pin enabled?

Lyythine wrote:
I have two cards with "chip" technology. Both cards were sent a corresponding PIN to use which I can change but havent done so yet. The chip & signature is a bit different than chip & pin in that one you sign a receipt and the other, much like a debit card, you simply enter your pin.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Luscher — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 19:58:49 GMT

You just insert it in the slot, normally located on the bottom, but you only have to do that if it is enabled on the terminal. which a lot of places by me do not have yet

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Shock — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:04:43 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
I don't know if i am not understanding how to use emv chip cards properly, but some places i shop have the reader on the bottom i think you are supposed to slide in your card, but none of them work so i just slide it the old fashioned way.

I think lots of them are not activated yet, even though they have the slot to insert the card. Refer to these pictures:

If these have slots, I doubt theyre activated, only at certain big retailers)

IME, these almost always work

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

nyancat — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:14:10 GMT

It would be very, very rare for a shop or terminal to be unable to read a chip card. The only way this would happen is if EMV was enabled, but the reader itself was missing or damaged. I've heard of some very isolated cases of this - countertop terminals that appear to believe they have an EMV PIN pad attached, but they really don't.

The thread posted here awhile ago, I FIRMLY believe was user error. The user flat-out refused to answer questions about how he was using it, but given he said he'd been doing it the same way for decades, I feel very confident that he removed the card too early. An EMV card in an EMV-enabled terminal must be LEFT IN until the transaction is complete. Therefore at gas stations, ATMs, ticket machines, etc you insert the card AND LEAVE IT IN until you're done if it is a chip card and the terminal is chip enabled.

Chip and PIN cards may be refused at some merchants in the US, if they have their chip terminal located in a place where customers aren't allowed or can't reach, and thus they will not allow you to type in the PIN. Tell them to try hitting enter to bypass the PIN. This may work.

Occasionally, there are reports of an especially dense cashier REFUSING to insert the chip card into the chip slot on their terminal. These reports seem to be mostly a thing of the past, however, as there are now too many chip cards in the market for people so ignorant to actually continue to exist.

I've made sure to carry a wallet with no magnetic stripe cards for awhile, and I've had no general chip card specific problems. I had some Amex chip card issues at Walmart, but these got resolved - and only affected Amex.

Conclusion - I would not hesitate to carry a wallet with only chip cards. There MIGHT be an incredibly rare acceptance issue, but it's far more likely for there to be user error.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

Fizzled — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:30:14 GMT

I requested Chip + Signature and Contactless for my BCP primary and AU cards today.

I think the most important aspect of this upgrade is how cool they look. I'm in IT, so I guess these trivial things impress me. =D

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

mongstradamus — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:32:15 GMT

@Shock wrote:
@mongstradamus wrote:
I don't know if i am not understanding how to use emv chip cards properly, but some places i shop have the reader on the bottom i think you are supposed to slide in your card, but none of them work so i just slide it the old fashioned way.
I think lots of them are not activated yet, even though they have the slot to insert the card. Refer to these pictures:

If these have slots, I doubt theyre activated, only at certain big retailers)

IME, these almost always work

yeah i see an lot of the top picture and i try to slide mine in the bottom below where you type in pin and such. They yell at me what are you doing just slide it.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

elegia — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:34:04 GMT

Okay, cool - thanks for the input, everyone!

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

_sidhe_ — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:55:08 GMT

I was in Target last night and tried to use the chip reader. It was blocked so the card couldn't slide in, and the guy at the register told me that it reads the EMV chip when I slide it. O.o

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

nyancat — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 20:58:57 GMT

The guy at your Target is especially uneducated and fails to actually think about what he's even saying, the slots are blocked because Target has EMV disabled.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

MoreRewards — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 22:43:31 GMT

@mongstradamus wrote:
I don't know if i am not understanding how to use emv chip cards properly, but some places i shop have the reader on the bottom i think you are supposed to slide in your card, but none of them work so i just slide it the old fashioned way.

The walmart worker had no clue. I tried to slide the old way but it was saying insert. Id never used EMV and walmart clearly didnt tell their employees anything about it. Which is senseless. He told me to let him swipe it over here (on his side) it will work. Of course it didnt. I said I have to insert it he comes over to my side and gives me my card but he wants to it in the wrong way. I was getting irritated. Im like it has to READ the chip. I dont like people much in the first place but Im not a rude person not his fault walmart installed these things without giving them info. But he was totally ignoring everything I said!!! At least he learned (I hope) so next person didnt go thit's even though that. For what its even worth considering one of my last walmart trips a lady was trying to use a walmart MC with chip & it was disabled or something.

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

nyancat — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 22:49:34 GMT

Walmart disabled their chip enforcement because of some problems, mostly stupid people. Without enforcement it offers almost no security benefit, however, so Walmart took a giant leap back in security and set the card industry in the US back dramatically by setting a precedent for insecure practice.

Now, what I don't understand - why didn't you just follow the terminal prompts and insert the card, properly, yourself?

Re: Any drawbacks to EMV chips?

MoreRewards — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 22:57:43 GMT

So they did disable it completely? Im confused as to why they added it in the first place.
That's what I was trying to do. I guess it could have just ignored the guy. I swiped it being clueless myself not knowing about them having a reader & this being my first card with it. The terminal said something about insert EMV or whatever & he said give the card to him he has to do it on his side & it will work. When it didn't like he said he came around to my side I'm assuming they don't see where it says insert but he did see it on my side. Then I was going to put it in he's trying to take it & put it in the opposite way (so the chip would be hanging out).
Our gas station has similar terminal so I told my partner that he will have to put it in if he uses it there but nope you just swipe. I guess theirs has never been enabled at least that I know of.