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Study: Banks should make the most of EMV

May 30, 2013

As the United States finally adopts EMV, the nation's banks will be able to take advantage of the power of the smart chip just as their counterparts in other countries have done in recent years. This, according to a recently published report, "EMV Chip Applications: A world of opportunities," from London-based research and consulting firm RBR.  

The report posits that the U.S. should employ chip-and-PIN from the get-go, rather than settle for the partial solution of chip-and-signature as some U.S. stakeholders advocate. Full migration to EMV will not only reduce fraud, but also enable the use of value-added applications such as remote chip authentication, contactless payments and multi-payment cards (e.g., cards that support both debit and credit functions), RBR said.

The report reviews a number of emerging tech trends that depend on EMV, such as cards with an LCD display window and touch-sensitive buttons. A popular use of display cards is that of authentication tokens, RBR said, calling them "an excellent example of how technological advances can extend the life of an existing infrastructure — in this case card payments."

The report also discuses mobile payments, suggesting that their use as a replacement for plastic cards may be years away, but in the interim, the card payments industry can leverage global EMV chip infrastructure to turn the potential threat of mobile payments into an opportunity.

For more information about the report, "EMV Chip Applications: A world of opportunities," or to discuss the findings in greater detail, contact Dominic Hirsch at RBR.

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