U.S. government working to speed up EMV adoption

by TMG

by: Brandon Kuehl

According to a White House announcement, as part of its “BuySecure” initiative, the U.S. government began a payment card replacement program on January 1, 2015. The plan is to issue more than one million new EMV chip government payment cards by the end of 2015.

Late last year, President Obama signed a new executive order — “Improving the Security of Consumer Financial Transactions” — mandating government credit and debit cards begin transitioning to EMV chip cards on January 1, 2015. The government will also upgrade retail payment card terminals at federal agency facilities, such as passport offices, to accept EMV chip cards.

These moves, affecting the cards on which payments from Social Security and other benefits are issued, put the government’s shoulder behind industry efforts to adopt EMV’s higher security cards.

continue reading »