Bank Issued Cards

Around the globe the bank controlled Co-ops (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express) have rolled out millions of smart cards under the EMV (Europay, MasterCard, VISA) standard. Often referred to as chip and PIN cards; these are the de facto type of cards for bank issuance in most countries except the U.S. As Canada has just recently started its regulatory shift of EMV cards the U.S. will be the sole island in North America that has not yet made the adoption. This adoption is being driven by the increased types of fraud for both credit and debit cards. Smart cards have been proven to secure a transaction with regularity, so much so that the EMV standard has become the norm.

As banks enter competition in newly opened markets such as investment brokerages, they are securing transactions via smart cards at an increased rate.
This means:
 • Smart cards increase trust through improved security. Two-Factor Authentication insures protection of data and value across the internet. Threats such as the “Man in the middle” and “Trojan Horses” that replay a user name and password are eliminated
• This is improving customer service. Customers can use secure smart cards for fast, 24-hour electronic funds transfers over the internet
• Costs are reduced: transactions that normally would require a bank employee’s time and paperwork can be managed electronically by the customer with a smart card