In the coming year, Banks in the United States are most likely to replace debit or bank card with versions that have tiny computer chips embedded in them, a move aimed  at making buying in store more protected.

Bank of America, for instance, has actually just revealed that, beginning this month, all new Bank clients will certainly be provided debit cards with chip technology, & that existing cards will certainly be updated as they expire. The cards work by creating a unique code for each transaction. While the change will certainly not always stop data breaches from occurring, safety experts say, the chip technology prevents criminals from using stolen info to create counterfeit cards. Many credit & debit cards in the United States rely on older 'Magnetic Strip' technology, which is vulnerable to hacking.

Many large banks & credit union have already been issuing chip-enabled credit card to clients that take a trip overseas, where the technology is in wider use. The switch to chip-based debit cards has been slower, nonetheless, because of more complex payment networks used by those cards, said Julie Conroy, research director for retail banking at Aite Group. A current spate of information breaches is aiding to accelerate the change, nevertheless. Home Depot, as an example, revealed last month that data from 56 million cards had actually been taken in a breach of its computer network.

A spokesman for Chase said the bank already provided many credit card with chips and also expected a lot of its debit cards to be chip-enabled by the end of next year. Wells Fargo says it is checking chip technology with its debit cards and plans to issue them 'On a Broad Scale' in the next year.

Citibank will begin issuing debit cards with chips in 2015, it said in an emailed statement. Citibank said that of its new consumer credit cards were issued with chip technology, and that the bank was on track to have half of its collection of consumer credit cards chip-enabled by the end of this year. Many customers can request for a chip bank card from the bank online or by calling customer service.

There is a catch, however. Also if customers acquire a chip card now, they may not easily find a store that accepts it because retailers in the in the United States have actually delayed other countries in taking on payment terminals that can process the cards. Some significant merchants like Whole Foods, Sam's Club and also Costco already have the systems in place, said Ms. Conroy, but 'we're going to see cards strike the marketplace faster than terminals'.

A lot of large stores are expected to have chip-compatible readers by October 2015. That is when the liability for card fraud that occurs on nonchip terminals will shift away from card-issuing banks, which now bear the brunt of fraud expenses, to the merchants.

Because of the staggered adoption, most of the chip cards being issued will have the magnetic strips also, so they could be made use of also at stores that do not have updated card readers, said Rebecca Kastl, a senior specialist at Neohapsis, a security and risk management company.

Below are some solution to questions regarding chip cards:.

> Is there anything different about how the chip cards are used?

Unlike magnetic stripe cards, which are 'Swiped' at the cash register, chip cards are 'Dipped' reader into a reader & stay in the device for a few seconds while the transaction is accepted. Customers have to remember to remove the card.

Ms. Conroy of Aite Group said that when the cards were first deployed in Canada, some merchants ended up with a pile of cards left behind by forgetful  customers. 'It's a behavior change,' she said.

> Should I await my bank to replace my debit card, or ask for a chip card now?

Paul Stephens of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit customer group, suggests those that use debit cards to ask for a chip version as quickly as it is readily available. Debit cards are linked straight to bank account & have less protected consumer securities compared to credit cards, he said, so it is important to make use of one with the most up to  security features. Banks typically cover losses from debit fraud if customers report a loss promptly. Yet, he warned, it could take up to two weeks for banks to bring back the funds.

> Will chip cards make on-line purchases safer?

Chip cards mainly against fraud when customers are shopping in a store; they're much less helpful for on-line shopping, given that customers are not using the actual plastic. Actually, analysts suspect there could be an uptick in on-line card fraud when chip cards become more prevalent, as criminals seek alternate ways to steal card information. So on-line stores may also consider further protections, like a special code sent to a consumer's smart phone that have to be entered to complete an purchase.