HSBC Cards

[Anonymous]

Anyone have an HSBC card? I have seen chip and pin versions overseas but the ones in the states seem to be kind of antiquated. Any upgrades coming soon?

[Anonymous]

I have an HSBC and an Orchard and neither of them have a chip. I have a Wells and an Amex and they both have chips.

[Anonymous]

Did you open the wells and amex in the states? I wasn't aware they were issued domestically.

[Anonymous]

What do you guys mean by chips? My bad if it's a dumb question? Lol

[Anonymous]

An encrypted data chip is embedded in the card which stores a pin number. Users can enter the card into a reader and input their pin, supposedly limiting unauthorized usage. While it's non-existent in the US, it's commonplace in many parts of the EU and asia.

[scottwagnon]

many cvs retailers carry these reader/swipe devices. thing is that is seems to be american not to have these issued on credit cards.

[haiti222]

HSBC has been in a holding pattern in the US since 2009. They may sell, wind down, or eventually refurbish their operations.....

[Anonymous]

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@haiti222 wrote:

HSBC has been in a holding pattern in the US since 2009. They may sell, wind down, or eventually refurbish their operations.....

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Just to be clear, I'm talking about cards issued directly by HSBC, not a co-brand or subsidiary. This is what I would expect the US to get in the near-term:

http://www.hsbc.ca/1/2/en/personal/credit-cards/advance-mastercard

[Anonymous]

Here is what the OP is talking about:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paypass#PayPass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visa_Inc.#PayWave

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ExpressPay

[bostonte]

NFC is very different than "Chip and PIN". NFC is just tap and go payment.

You can get plenty of cards with NFC (PayPass, PayWave, ExpressPay, etc. like the above poster linked to) -- but so far the UN credit union is the only one to do a major issue of chip and pin cards in the US. Wells Fargo and Citi are supposedly doing a trial for future release.

Chip and PIN is what they're using in Europe, and it's had a major introduction in Canada in the past few years. No mag swipe. Insert card into reader, Enter PIN. No signature.

The problem is US cards only have a mag swipe -- some European retailers try to refuse a swiped card because the merchant has better fraud protection (in so far as being able to charge back for unauthorized or some such reason) on a chip and PIN transaction. Also, lots of automated things like train ticket machines, parking meters, etc. only take chip and PIN.

*NO ONE* in the US is doing chip and PIN as a merchant. Some may have equipment that would be capable of doing it, but it is not yet an option with US processing networks.