Chip card technology is poised to take off in a big way, as more and more consumers come to understand the added levels of protection against fraud and hacking that this new and exciting technology offers.
The National Business Association says that as of July of this year, over 88% of all Master Cards are chip enabled. And Visa says they have over 280 million chip cards in circulation as of right now.
Why all the fuss?
Easy. Chip cards are impossible to hack by traditional methods. Their technology is not based on that black magnetic strip on the back of the card, or a set of numbers — both of which skilled thieves can now lift from unsuspecting consumers from as far away as twenty feet.
None of that can be done with a card that has a chip embedded in it.
Now all that needs to happen is for small merchants to start accepting chip cards. As of July of 2016, only a third of all small businesses have installed the technology necessary to accept chip cards.
But, according to the Retailers Association of America, there is a mad dash on to install the new technology in time for the Holiday shopping season — which, believe it or not, starts in less than three months!