EMV Cards

EMV, which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa, is a global-standard set of specifications that ensures functionality between smart-chip-embedded cards and the technology or process used to authenticate its transactions.

A chip-enabled credit or debit card features a progressive level of payment security, making it extremely difficult to counterfeit. With past, large-scale data breaches and increasing fraud rates, the U.S. card issuers are shifting to this new technology to protect consumers and reduce fraud costs.

What does this mean to you? It means that all current cardholders will receive a replacement card with the metallic chip embedded in it, and all future cards produced will include the chip.

Here are some FAQs on EMV:
Watch this short EMV video for more information

Yes and no. EMV cards have been used in other countries for many years but are just now reaching the United States. As of October 2015, all restaurants and other merchants are required to have implemented the EMV standards. If those merchants are not EMV compliant by the October deadline, they would be liable for any fraudulent credit or debit card transactions. In the past it was the financial institutions that typically absorbed those costs.

Very easy! However, there is a small learning curve to using the chip-enabled cards. Instead of swiping your card, you will do what is called “card dipping”. Card dipping simply means that you insert your card (face up) into a terminal/ATM slot and leave it through the transaction process, versus swiping the card. To authorize your transactions, just follow the prompts given on the terminal.

Yes. The US is the last major market still using the magnetic stripe card system. Many merchants across the U.S. are beginning to accept chip-enabled cards and this will continue. The chip technology is already accepted in over 130 countries around the world. Your chip card will continue to work at terminals where only magnetic stripe transactions are accepted.

SeaComm has chosen to protect our members with the highest level of security. This is one more way to continue to offer you peace of mind that we are doing everything we can to protect your financial life.

The traditional magnetic stripe found on your current card contains unchanging data which makes it easy to replicate and use over and over again. Unlike a magnetic stripe card, every time you use your EMV SeaComm credit or debit card at a chip-enabled terminal, the embedded chip generates a unique transaction code that cannot be used again. This helps prevent your data from being stolen and used fraudulently.

Yes. Your new card will have both the chip and the magnetic stripe. If a merchant is not yet chip-enabled, simply continue to swipe your card to pay for your purchase, as you have always done. Remember, your card is more secure when using the chip…so make sure to utilize the new process whenever possible.

Yes. Once you receive your new chip-enabled card you should contact any merchant with whom you have given your credit or debit card information to for reoccurring payments. (Example: Mail order prescriptions)