Spokane Teachers Credit Union is introducing a microchip “smart” Visa credit cards for its members who travel frequently overseas, says spokesman Dan Hansen. 

The cards use what’s known as the Europay, Mastercard, and Visa (EMV) standard. A microchip containing the cardholder’s information is embedded in the card and is read by the merchant’s card terminal. Unlike traditional magnetic strips, the information in the microchip is encrypted, and it generates a unique code for every transaction. 

“The important thing is, even if a hacker did somehow get that encrypted info, it wouldn’t do them any good,” Hansen says. “The code would be outdated by the time they went to use the card information again.”

The credit union’s microchip Visa cards are smooth, with no raised lettering, Hansen says. The cards also will have both microchip and magnetic strip technology, so they can be used at merchants who haven’t installed microchip card terminals yet. 

Hansen says that these credit cards are already commonly used in other countries. 

“There are about 2 billion cards with EMV chips in circulation, mostly in Europe, Canada, and the Pacific Rim,” Hansen says. “The U.S. has been a little slower to adopt it because of the investment that’s involved, but retailers are now making the transition. I think it’s happening a lot faster than we would’ve expected a year ago.”

STCU is planning to replace all members’ cards with microchip cards over the next year or so, Hansen says. The credit union currently has 129,000 members and 62,000 issued credit cards, he says. 

The credit union recommends that those not often traveling overseas wait until 2015 to request a microchip card, because more U.S. merchants will be accepting them then. 

STCU also is only issuing microchip credit cards currently. It expects to start issuing microchip debit cards in late 2015 or early 2016, Hansen says. The card will be free to members, he says, and the debit card personal identification number will stay the same.

“It’s something that has been in the works here for quite a while,” he says. “I think every credit card issuer has been looking into this for quite a while.”

However, even though microchip cards are more secure than magnetic-strip cards, Hansen says users should still monitor their statements and contact their financial institution immediately if they see suspicious charges.

“We’re all getting numb to these stories about breaches,” Hansen says, referring to the data security breach at Target Corp. last year that compromised 40 million customers’ card information. “But, instances of actual fraud on an STCU member’s credit cards are still very rare.”