Consumer Liability Unlikely to Change With New Credit Cards
Written on September 24, 2011 – 6:17 am | by Alicia Ross
Recently, Bucks noted Visas plans to speed up adoption in the United States of credit and debit cards that use E.M.V. chip technology, which is considered more secure than the old-fashioned magnetic strip cards prevalent here. The new cards are widespread in Europe, and some globetrotting Americans have complained that their cards dont always work overseas.
In response, a reader wondered, in a posted comment, if the impetus for the change was to shift more liability for card fraud away from banks and onto cardholders; he suggested that had happened in Europe, after the migration to E.M.V. cards several years ago. (E.M.V. stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa.)
But its unlikely that the new chip cards will result in any changes to consumer liability in the United States, says Julie McNelley, an analyst specializing in retail banking with Aite Group. Federal law already limits consumer liability in cases of card fraud to a maximum of $50 in most situations, and banks usually waive even that amount. “The shift of the form factor isn’t going to affect consumer liability,” Ms. McNelley
Tags: Cards
