Chip technology has proven to greatly reduce card fraud and make a safe payment system even safer.  Your Healthcare & Municipal Employees' Credit Union Member Card^® debit card, featuring a built-in microchip, is just one of the ways that your credit union is working to protect you.

What is a chip card?

A chip card is a credit or debit card containing an embedded computer chip that gives the card the ability to store and process data.

Chip cards and chip terminals work together to ensure a highly secure transaction by validating the card and the cardholder. The computer chip makes cards more difficult to copy, thereby reducing fraud.

What are the benefits to consumers?

The primary benefit is added security. Chip cards provide additional protection to avoid disclosure of personal information and are very difficult to copy.

Why is the industry moving to chip?

The move to chip technology is the latest innovation in the rapidly changing payments environment, and demonstrates the industry's efforts to prevent fraud and further secure Canadian electronic payments.

Are all financial institutions using chip cards?

In Canada, all financial institutions were required to issue chip card debit cards to their members by December 31^st, 2012. Merchants will eventually be required to have chip card terminals; dates will vary because of the amount of work required to migrate the entire Canadian card payment system within the mandated timelines.

Why has Canada migrated to chip cards and the United States has not?

The United States has a different structure in its financial system and does not have a single proprietary network like Interac^®.

How does the new chip card work?

The chip card is inserted into a chip terminal and left there for the duration of the transaction. The cardholder simply follows the prompts to complete the transaction.