NRF praises JPMorgan Chase for chip and PIN effort

Washington, D.C. -- The National Retail Federation (NRF) is officially recognizing the financial institution JPMorgan Chase & Co. for its decision to issue Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV)-compliant payment cards that require customers to enter a personal identification number (PIN), as well as store their personal data in an encrypted microchip.



Previously, JPMorgan Chase has issued EMV-compliant cards that require a customer signature, rather than a PIN, for authentication. The NRF has publicly come out in support of chip and PIN, stating that signature authentication does not effectively prevent thieves from impersonating the rightful owners of cards that are stolen or lost.



“Use of a PIN is absolutely essential to providing merchants and their customers with the full extent of protection available from chip-based cards,” said Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the NRF, in a statement. “The chip authenticates that a card isn’t a counterfeit but it’s the PIN that ensures the card is being used by its actual owner and not a thief scrawling an illegible signature. Chip-and-signature cards just don’t offer the level of protection needed to help stop criminal hackers from making money off payment card data.”



NRF has encouraged uniform use of PIN and chip for years, and urged Chase in recent meetings to make full use of the double layer of protection these cards offer, Shay added. “The networks and issuing banks should follow their lead and do the same,” he said.