EMV Makes Gains in the U.S.
EMV continues to make gains in the U.S., with MasterCard reporting that 67 percent of its cards carrying its brand also have the anti-fraud chip technology. That represents a 51 percent increase since the Oct. 1, 2015 EMV liability shift.
The figures, released late last week, also show that 1.2 million merchant locations in the U.S. accept EMV payments, an increase of 121 percent since the liability shift. “Other countries that have already adopted chips have seen significant reductions in counterfeit card fraud over time—as much as 60, 70 or even 80 percent,” said Catherine Murchie, senior vice president of North American Enterprise Security Solutions for MasterCard. “The U.S. industry continues to work together on EMV to generate similar results.
Figures Visa released earlier this year also show EMV growth. As of Dec. 31, 2015, U.S. consumers held more than 212 million Visa-branded EMV cards, a year-over-year increase of 644 percent. “There are now more chip cards in the U.S. than in any other country,” Visa said. The payments network added that “7 out of 10 Americans now have at least one chip card in their wallet, and approximately 93 percent of consumers are aware that the transition to the new technology is happening.”
The pace of EMV progress in the U.S. was a subject at the recent All Payments Expo in New Orleans. About 60 percent of U.S. credit cards carry the chip technology, according to Mercator Advisory Group senior analyst Alex Johnson. But while he and other experts expect EMV to hit its full stride here by 2020, merchant acceptance and prepaid are lagging behind.
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