How do I use my chip card at a chip-enabled terminal?
What are chip cards?
What is my PIN number?
What are the benefits of chip technology?
What is a smart card or an EMV card?
Why is my card being upgraded to a chip card?
How is this card different from a magnetic stripe card?
How does chip technology work?
Will chip cards prevent third-party data breaches?
Will chip cards prevent all fraud from happening?
Is a chip card and an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) card the same thing?
Are chip cards new?
Where can I use my chip card?
What are "Card Not Present" (CNP) transactions?
Chip Card Technology
Frequently Asked Questions
| Q: | How do I use my chip card at a chip-enabled terminal? |
| A: | STEP 1 |
| Insert your card "chip first" into the chip-enabled terminal. With chip transactions, your card remains in the terminal throughout your transaction. | |
| STEP 2 | |
| Approve the amount. | |
| STEP 3 | |
| Follow the prompts on the terminal and wait for the transaction to be processed. You may be required to enter your PIN or sign to complete the transaction. | |
| STEP 4 | |
| Remove your card after the transaction is completed and you are prompted to do so by the payment terminal. | |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | What are chip cards? |
| A: | The chip contains your card number, name, and other account information. There is no other personal information stored on the chip. Due to security in the chip, every transaction you make is unique, which makes it extremely difficult for the card to be copied or counterfeited. Your chip card will also have the usual magnetic stripe on the back so that you can continue using your card while merchants are transitioning to new chip card terminals. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | What is my PIN number? |
| A: | The PIN on your chip-enabled card will be mailed to each cardholder. If you want to change your PIN, please call 757. 928.8850 or 800.928.8801 or visit your local BayPort branch to request a new one. Note: PIN numbers cannot be personalized on a credit card chip card as they are unique to the chip on the card. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | What are the benefits of chip technology? |
| A: | The embedded microchip provides dynamic transaction security features and other capabilities not possible with traditional magnetic stripe cards. The chip encrypts information to increase data security when making transactions at a chip-enabled terminal making it extremely difficult to counterfeit. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | What is a smart card or an EMV card? |
| A: | You may hear chip cards referred to as "smart cards" or "EMV cards" – they're all different ways of referring to the same type of card. Similarly, an EMV terminal is the same as a chip-enabled terminal. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | Why is my card being upgraded to a chip card? |
| A: | Chip technology is already used in other countries and now coming to the U.S. Your new chip card provides an extra level of security and is easier to use at international locations. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | How is this card different from a magnetic stripe card? |
| A: | A chip card looks just like a traditional card with an embedded chip in addition to the standard magnetic stripe on the back of the card. Rather than swiping your card, you will insert your chip card into the card terminal to complete the transaction. While magnetic stripe cards are still considered secure, chip technology is the next step to providing enhanced security to our members. Whether you use the magnetic stripe or the chip to make your purchase, you can have confidence in the protection and security features we provide for all credit and debit card accounts. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | How does chip technology work? |
| A: | Every transaction with a chip card has unique data in it. Chip transactions are dynamic, not static like magnetic stripe cards. That is why if someone were able to intercept one of your chip transactions they would not be able to use that information again. This stops fraudsters from being able to create counterfeit chip cards. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | Will chip cards prevent third-party data breaches? |
| A: | Chip card technology provides an additional layer of security to help reduce certain types of fraud resulting from data breaches; however, it will not prevent a data breach. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | Will chip cards prevent all fraud from happening? |
| A: | No. As the industry continues to develop new ways to protect consumers, perpetrators continue to look for new ways to commit fraud. Chip cards provide an additional layer of security at chip-enabled terminals, on top of the fraud prevention monitoring we currently provide. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | Is a chip card and an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) card the same thing? |
| A: | No. RFID chips are encoded with your information and contain a tiny antenna. All you have to do is brush them up to a card reader, and it processes your payment request. Safeguards include the fact that the card never leaves your hand, the card must be extremely close to the reader to work, and the account is only charged once even if the card is tapped to the reader twice. However, they are vulnerable to being skimmed without ever leaving your pocket. Information can be stolen as easily as using a smart phone and a free app available online. It requires only proximity to the person’s wallet or pocket containing the card for the high-tech “pick-pocketing” to occur. The information gathered from a skim is enough to create a cloned magnetic striped card, though this information is only good for one more transaction – security codes on RFID cards are designed to change with every transaction. EMV chip cards contain the same information as magnetic strips, but the information cannot be skimmed like the RFID. EMV chip cards transmit different encrypted data for each transaction, making them very difficult to clone or use fraudulently. If data from a single transaction is stolen, as was the case with the Target hacking incident, the data could be used to clone a card, but the data would be identified as “used before” and the card transaction would not be authorized. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | Are chip cards new? |
| A: | Although chip cards are relatively new in the U.S., they have been used elsewhere for many years. In some countries, particularly in Europe, merchants may be more familiar with accepting chip cards. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | Where can I use my chip card? |
| A: | Use your chip card at the exact same merchants you do now—by inserting the card into card terminals that are chip enabled or swiping your card at merchant locations that have not yet switched to chip-enabled card terminals. You can also continue to use your card as you did before for online payments, telephone payments, and at ATMs. |
| Back to Top | |
| Q: | What are "Card Not Present" (CNP) transactions? |
| A: | If your chipped credit card information is stolen, thieves may not be able to clone your card easily, but they may still be able to use your card in “card not present” transactions such as online or phone transactions. In these cases, a chipped card is no more secure than a magnetic striped card. Safeguarding your credit card information, especially for CNP transactions, will continue to be necessary. |
| Back to Top |