The way cardholders pay is changing.

Chip cards are based on a global card payment standard called EMV, currently used in more than 80 countries. There are more than 3.4 billion chip cards issued across the globe. Learn more about EMV.

Chip card transactions offer you advanced security for in store payments by making every transaction unique. And, your chip card is more difficult to counterfeit or copy. If the card data and the one-time code are stolen, the information cannot be used to create counterfeit cards and commit fraud.

Contact your card issuance partners or payment brand today to learn more about issuing chip cards.

During the transition to chip, instruct your cardholders to swipe their card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. If the cardholder already knows their chip card works in a store, they can start by inserting their card. These basic steps should be communicated to cardholders about completing transactions with their chip cards:

1. The cardholder should insert card with the chip toward the terminal, facing up. The chip card should not be removed until the cardholder is prompted.
2. The cardholder will provide their signature or PIN as prompted by the terminal. Some transactions may not require either.
3. When the terminal says the transaction is complete, the cardholder can remove their card.

It may take all merchants some time to upgrade all of their terminals to be chip-enabled. At merchants that do not accept chip, your cardholders will still be able to swipe their cards to make a payment.

Anywhere. Their card will have a chip and a magnetic stripe to accommodate any situation. During the transition to chip, instruct your cardholders to swipe their card as they normally would and follow the prompts. If the terminal is chip-enabled, it will prompt them to insert it instead. If the cardholder already knows their chip card works in a store, they can start by inserting their card.

Every day, more merchants are becoming chip-enabled to increase security for in store card transactions, so cardholders will start to see these terminals at many of the places they shop today. Cardholders will continue to be able to pay at both chip-enabled and non-chip-enabled merchants with the same card.

Yes. Chip cards are widely used in international markets and are accepted in more than 80 countries. Providing a chip card to your cardholders will make it easier for them to transact internationally.

Chip-enabled terminals have all of the features you are used to with a payment terminal, with the addition of a slot for consumers to insert their card. The slot is typically located at the bottom or the top of the payment terminal.

Your investment in issuing chip cards will pay off by building trust and loyalty with your cardholders. You can let them know you have made the change on your website or by advertising, statements, social media, email and direct mail blasts. You can also use your receipts, ATMs, branches, staff and call centers to let cardholders know that you care about their safety and security. Download the best practices for cardholder communication.

You should communicate with cardholders before, during and after chip card issuance

• Before: Promote awareness and let them know that a change is coming
• During: Promote activation, security benefits and how to use the new chip card
• After/ongoing: Provide continual education about what to expect as they pay