Study: Chip cards show impressive growth

Six months after the Oct. 1, 2015 deadline for migration to the Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) chip-based payment card standard, retailers and consumers are demonstrating a fast rate of adoption.



According to new data MasterCard has released on usage rates of its EMV-compliant payment cards, 67% of U.S.-issued MasterCard-branded consumer credit cards now feature chips. This represents a 51% increase in the number of consumer credit cards with chips in market since the Oct. 1, 2015 liability shift.



In addition, 1.2 million U.S. merchant locations, an increase of 121% since October, are accepting chip card payments. In addition to national retail chains, approximately 1 million local and regional merchant locations are accepting chip cards.



“Chip technology is an essential upgrade to better protect consumers and businesses,” said Catherine Murchie, senior VP of North American enterprise security solutions for MasterCard. “Other countries that have already adopted chips have seen significant reductions in counterfeit card fraud over time – as much as 60%, 70% or even 80%. The U.S. industry continues to work together on EMV to generate similar results.”