Every time your cardholder makes an in-store purchase at a chip-activated terminal, the chip card generates a unique one-time code that’s needed for the transaction to be approved — a feature that is extremely effective in reducing counterfeit fraud.
Overview
Give your cardholder an extra layer of security.
Features + Benefits
Fraud protection
When you offer your cardholders chip technology, they are protected from counterfeit fraud. Visa supports a range of cardholder verification methods, allowing clients to authenticate in a manner best suited for their business—either via a signature or PIN. For certain small ticket transactions, no signature may be required.
Cardholder convenience
To use the Visa chip card, cardholders just insert the card into the terminal and follow the easy on-screen prompts or swipe the card using the magnetic stripe on the back of the card if a merchant does not yet accept chip cards. The ease of use means cardholders will continue to get in and out of an establishment, be on their way and feel more confident when shopping domestically and internationally.
Good for business
You'll have more confidence in each transaction-especially outside the United States. Investing in chip technology is investing in the future because it helps pave the way for new innovations like mobile and digital commerce. Visa has helped lead the world in the global adoption of card chips and is ready to offer its expertise to help your business offer chip technology.
Prepare for the future
As merchants adopt Visa chip technology, there are a few things to keep in mind:
Merchants are deploying chip-activated terminals, but remember customers can still swipe a chip-enabled card using the magnetic stripe on the back of the card at merchants without updated terminals.
When your cardholder swipes their chip-enabled card at a chip-activated terminal, the terminal will prompt them to insert the card into the chip slot instead. Cardholders can use their cards for payment over-the-phone or online just as always. Whether the cardholder inserts, swipes or enters their card information online, they are protected from unauthorized transactions with Visa's Zero Liability Policy*.
* Visa’s Zero Liability Policy does not apply to certain commercial card and anonymous prepaid card transactions or transactions not processed by Visa. Cardholders must use care in protecting their card and notify their issuing financial institution immediately of any unauthorized use. Contact your issuer for more detail.
Q + A
Have questions about Visa chip technology? Find answers below for your frequently asked questions.
Card overview
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Due to growth in counterfeit fraud, Visa anticipated the need to shift to dynamic authentication over time. EMV® chip is proven technology that is extremely effective in reducing counterfeit fraud.
EMV® is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC.
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Visa encourages but does not require card issuing financial institutions or merchants to migrate to chip technology. U.S. issuers may choose to adopt chip at whatever pace works best for their business. However, Visa’s domestic and cross border liability shift provides issuers an opportunity to benefit from enhanced chargeback rights if they adopt EMV chip cards. For issuers who take no action, there is no change to their fraud liability. It is important to point out that all stakeholders in the payment system are going to benefit from the U.S. migration as we move toward building a future proof chip infrastructure that will help to further reduce fraud, support emerging payment technologies, and enhance international acceptance.
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While your cardholders can use their Visa cards at tens of millions of merchants globally, travelers occasionally experience difficulties when using their cards in chip markets. By moving the U.S. to chip, travelers may find that overseas merchants more readily prefer chip cards over magnetic stripe cards. Note, however, that regardless of preference, merchants are still required to accept magnetic stripe-only Visa cards.
Card usage
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Before choosing a chip card vendor, issuers should first make sure that the vendor’s chip card product has been tested and approved according to Visa and industry standards. Visa allows eligible vendors to submit chip card products for Visa testing and approval at a Visa-Recognized Laboratory. Visa will only accept new chip cards for testing if the chip has successfully completed the EMVCo chip hardware security evaluation process and the chip is on the EMVCo approved chip list. The Visa Technology Partners site provides vendors with access to Visa information and the tools to simplify the implementation of Visa programs, services, and capabilities. In turn, Visa issuers gain a network of vendor resources and access to the Visa Approved Chip Card Products.
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The approval of cards developed by vendors may require a number of iterations of functional and risk reviews. Issuers should be aware that the approval of new card products could take from 4 to 12 months.
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One way to greatly reduce the time it takes to deploy EMV®-based contact chip cards is by taking advantage of Visa Chip Services for issuers. This is a turnkey solution that has been designed to accelerate “time to market” for a secure, interoperable, online-only EMV-compliant chip product. This service helps eliminate the cost and complexity of offline authorization and offline card risk management. We recommend selecting a vendor card product that is already approved and listed on the Visa website. These vendors also offer approved, off-the-shelf products that facilitate the implementation.
EMV® is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC
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Please visit Visa’s list of Approved Card Vendors on Visa Online (VOL). This list contains vendors that support magnetic stripe and chip personalization. It is important to include a question in your RFP about the vendor's experience in personalizing chip cards.
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Customers can use their chip cards at the same locations where they currently use their magnetic stripe cards. If the chip-activated terminal is not yet available, they can swipe their card using the magnetic stripe on the back of the card just like they do today. If the merchant is chip-activated, the terminal or the cashier will prompt them to insert and leave the card in the terminal for the duration of the transaction.
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Yes. They can simply swipe their card just as they always have.
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Absolutely. Their cards will work over the phone and online just like they always have.
Card security
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Most Visa cards offer protection from unauthorized use of your card or account information. Visa chip technology offers another layer of security when used at a chip-reading terminal, because it generates a unique, one-time code that is needed for each transaction to be approved. Adding this dynamic element to transactions makes account data less attractive to steal and adds greater security to the payment system.
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No. Visa will only accept new chip cards for testing if the chip has successfully completed the EMVCo chip hardware security evaluation process and the chip is on the EMVCo approved chip list located at www.emvco.com.
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As of October 1, 2015, Visa’s global POS counterfeit liability shift became effective in the U.S. With this liability shift, the party that is the cause of a chip transaction not occurring (i.e., either the issuer or the merchant’s acquirer) is held financially liable for any resulting card present counterfeit fraud losses.
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Yes, it applies to all transaction types regardless of cardholder verification method. It is worth noting however that the liability shift pertains only to counterfeit fraud. As with many other regions in the world, Visa is not instituting a lost and stolen fraud liability shift in the U.S.