US retailers vow to protect customer data

European consumers can scarcely recall the time when purchasing goods by debit or credit card required only a signature.

Strangely, in the USA, all it takes to secure a transaction is often just a swipe of your card.

Now US retailers want to adopt the Chip and Pin method in a bid to protecting customers’ personal data.

"The National Retail Federation and our 12,000 members are committed to combating this criminal threat to our industry and our customers, and we strongly recommend the adoption of meaningful steps to fight cyber theft and credit card fraud," NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay wrote in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker John Boehner.

The letter reiterated the retail industry's long-held support for replacing current credit and debit cards with cards that would store data in an embedded computer micro-chip and require the use of a PIN rather than a signature. Current cards use easy-to-hack 1960s technology.

"For years, banks have continued to issue fraud-prone magnetic stripe cards to US customers, putting sensitive financial information at risk while simultaneously touting the security benefits of next-generation PIN and Chip card technology for customers in Europe and dozens of other markets," Shay said.

The NRF expressed its support for an immediate transition from magnetic-stripe cards to more-secure and advanced Chip and Pin cards to better protect consumer data from theft, hacking and skimming. Chip and Pin cards are widely used in more than 80 countries throughout Europe, Asia and Africa.

The letter comes after thieves stole the personal data of thousands of Target customers.