Post Offices can use existing equipment to read the new, high-security credit and debit cards being issued to consumers.
Major card companies recently began issuing cards embedded with secure chips to prevent credit and debit fraud. These chips contain the same information stored on the magnetic strips on the back of older cards but with improved security features.
The new cards still have magnetic strips, so USPS retail employees should treat the cards as they normally would, Retail and Customer Service Operations reports. Customers can continue to swipe the cards as they do today.
USPS will eventually upgrade equipment to read the information on the embedded-chip cards. Employees will receive training on the new cards and equipment.
Retail employees also are reminded that credit card companies require that cards must be signed by cardholders. If a card isn’t signed, employees must request a photo ID and have the cardholder sign the back of the card.
For credit card transactions, employees must enter the last four digits of the card for verification. For manual entry transactions, employees must enter the last four digits of the credit card and the 3-digit cardholder verification value.
More information is included in Retail Digest’s Oct. 6 edition, which is available on the publication’s site.