Wells Fargo To Test Chip Embedded Cards With Travelers

Wells Fargo is going to send 15,000 EMV chip-embedded credit cards to frequent travelers this summer, the largest US bank to make a move towards these international-style credit cards. Consumers had complained about troubles using their credit card abroad with kiosks that only accept chip cards or with merchants who refused to take cards that only have the magnetic strip.

EMV cards, which stands for Europay, Mastercard and VISA, are the standard in Europe and in many international destinations. The card has a PIN which is embedded in the card’s gold chip and has to be keyed in at purchase.

Wells Fargo is the biggest American bank to publicly test pin and chip cards in the US. Their foray might be the critical “somebody else took the first step” that it takes to get other issuers to follow suit.

Can Wells Jump-Start Chip and PIN in U.S.? [American Banker]

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