Discover’s Chairman and CEO David Nelms (full disclosure: I reported to Nelms during my tenure as head of Discover’s merchant network) has endorsed EMV Chip and PIN authentication. Great leadership on Discover’s part advocating for this common-sense authentication method already in wide use in Canada and the EU.
The U.S. really missed the boat by implementing a Chip and Signature authentication scheme that was already antiquated on the day it was launched. When fully implemented, EMV will largely eliminate counterfeit card fraud, but the current U.S. system would not stop a fraudster using a stolen card. Chip and PIN would do that.
Let’s hope that the other major card networks follow Discover’s lead.