Chip cards are formally known as "EMV" cards, named for the coalition of three companies, Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, that developed the specifications for the standard. Better Security for Cards and Transactions. If the card is to have a PIN associated with it, the PIN is programmed into the chip before it is embedded in the card and sent to the cardholder. Much of the rest of the world—Europe, Canada, Latin America, and the Asia-Pacific region—has already transitioned to chip cards. Card Fraud and Point-of-Sale Intrusion Data Breaches24

Card fraud can be conducted in a number of ways, but it always begins with the theft of card information. These breaches are called "POS intrusions." POS intrusions and the ensuing card fraud are facilitated by what many consider to be the weak link in the U.S. card payment process: the continued use of magnetic stripe cards that carry unencrypted data. Most U.S. issuers have stated that they plan to issue chip-and-signature credit cards, rather than chip-and-PIN cards. A card's security code and expiration are shown only on the card and are not encoded on either the magnetic stripe or the EMV chip. EMV Adoption for Debit Cards in the United States: Upcoming Liability Shift

On October 1, 2016, a new liability shift will occur: Automated teller machines (ATMs) that accept MasterCard-branded debit cards must be EMV operational. ATMs that accept Visa-branded debit cards will have an additional year to be operational. Data Breach Issues

Given the broad interest in reducing data breaches and fraud, and the October 1, 2015, transition deadline, the 114 th Congress might examine the effectiveness of the transition to determine whether legislative action may be needed, especially if major breaches continue to occur. Costs for Merchants: POS System Replacement .
Consumer financial card fraud due to data breaches of card information is an ongoing problem in the United States. The majority of breaches are carried out against point-of-sale (POS) systems, and are facilitated by what many consider to be the weak link in the U.S. retail sales payment process: the continued use of magnetic stripe cards (also referred to as stripe-and-signature cards). These cards are still what most U.S. consumers think of when referring to financial cards.
In much of the rest of the world, cards that provide a much higher level of security for conducting sales transactions have been used for many years: EMV cards, named for the coalition of card brands Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (the EMV Coalition or EMVCo) that developed the specifications for the system in the 1990s. EMV cards store card information on an embedded microchip and are more commonly called chip cards. With these cards, instead of swiping and signing to make a payment, the cardholder inserts the card into the POS machine, then either enters a personal identification number (PIN) or signs to verify the transaction.
On October 1, 2015, the liability for fraudulent transactions involving magnetic stripe cards shifted to the entity—card issuer (e.g., bank, credit union) or merchant—that had not yet made the transition. The transition makes U.S.-issued cards compatible with POS systems and automated teller machines in much of the rest of the world. On October 1, 2016, a new liability shift will occur: automated teller machines (ATM) that accept MasterCard branded cards must be EMV operational. ATMs that accept Visa-branded cards have an additional year to be operational.
The 114th Congress may examine the transition and its effectiveness to determine whether any legislative action is needed, especially if major breaches continue to occur despite the transition.