So the US market is finally beginning to see sense.  With Wal-Mart behind it, this must surely mean a massive migration to EMV chip.  Totally agree with the insistence on full Chip and PIN - chip and signature has always seemed to me to be missing the point.  There is also a huge opportunity for the US banking and payments industry to learn from experience in the rest of the world and embed added value functionality into their EMV infrastructure from the outset - remote chip authentication, EMV contactless, multi-payment cards etc - all starting to take off in a big way over here but as add-ons rather than fully integrated from the start.

When Wal-Mart tried to drive RFID technology in the retail industry a few years ago, it resulted in a lot of buzz but nowhere near 100% adoption even several years after its original deadline has passed. It remains to be seen how much impact its current call for EMV is going to make in the USA. But, one thing is for sure: a moniker like "bandaid" solutions from someone like Wal-Mart threatens the prospects of nuBridges and other providers of E2EE and Tokenization solutions.

There are two aspects of the article that are really pertinent here - the need for US payment industry stakeholders to unite on the issue and also the rising threat of fraud in the region. Nick Collin highlights a good point that EMV can lead to value-add, as well as stronger security. However, migration is ultimately going to be driven by the negative factors associated with magstripe cards, not the positive reasons that prove EMV is advantageous. It is the risk of fraud that is pushing EMV up the banks' agenda. For example, Aite Group reports that US card fraud at the ATM is on the rise. In fact, 10 per cent of all fraud victims in the U.S. have experienced fraudulent ATM cash withdrawals and this resulted in 23% of those leaving their primary financial institution.

With most of the world migrating to Chip and PIN including the US' neighbours Mexico and Canada, US banks are also becoming increasingly aware that they are the odd ones out in terms of debit card security. While EMV in the US is still some way off despite Wal Mart's support of the standard, the risk of damaging brand reputation in connection with the clear need to reduce fraud could push the US - albeit slowly - towards the tipping point for migration to EMV.