US Post Offices are supposed to help lead the way to widespread adoption of the new, more secure chip-enabled credit and debit cards most us of use.
• Good news: Most post office have installed the new card readers chip-enabled cards require.
• Bad news: Those new readers can’t yet read the high-security chips because they lack the proper software.
So the next time you pay for postage at your local post office, you’ll still have to swipe your card the old-fashioned way. Unfortunately, so can any criminal who manages to counterfeit your credit card, along with its insecure magnetic strip.
As I’ve written before, these new, high-security EMV cards won’t stop hackers or end the kind of data breaches that have struck Target and Home Depot during the past two years. But their widespread use is expected to curb in-store credit card fraud.
Neither sleet nor snow?
Based on an Executive Order President Obama signed almost exactly a year ago, you would expect the the US Postal Service to have its high-security system fully operational by now. That order directed the government to lead by example in securing transactions and sensitive data. As part of the White House’s BuySecure Initiative, “Every Federal agency processing consumer sales will actively replace any prior-generation card retail payment card terminals to those with new chip and PIN security features.”
I asked the U.S. Postal Service why the new system isn’t running yet and when consumers would be able to use their new cards in the more secure way. Here’s what a Postal Service spokesperson told me an an e-mail:
“The Postal Service will be upgrading equipment and software to read the information on the embedded-chip cards, but we do not have a set deployment date at this time. Employees will receive training on the new cards and equipment once it is enabled in retail locations.”
In other words, it’s anyone’s guess when you’ll be able to pay at a Post Office by securely “dipping” your chip-enabled card instead of having to swipe it.
What about other retailers?
Many were expected to have new readers fully operational by October 1, when new rules went into effect making retailers who didn’t comply responsible for some fraudulent transactions. In fact, when I visited a few stores around the metro New York City area, I was able to dip my high-security card when checking out at two major chains that had learned the hard way about massive credit card fraud—Home Depot and Target. Bravo!
On the other hand, cashiers at a local Whole Foods supermarket were still using old-fashioned, swipe-only readers and didn’t know when new ones would arrive, much less be fully operational. I’ve also encountered new-style readers at local chain pharmacies and hardware stores that, just as with the Postal Service, still make you swipe your card.
It’s probably too much to expect every store to get with the program this quickly. But maybe if the US Postal Service finished beefing up its security—as President Obama asked it to a year ago—it would inspire more retailers to secure their own checkouts sooner.
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–Jeff Fox
