By: Tomas Ronolski - AllPennyStocks.com News

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

To increase the security of credit cards, card companies began issuing cards embedded with tiny chips. The idea was to make credit cards more secure. However, in a recent article published on NerdWallet, Erin El Issa noted that credit card chips do not make using credit cards entirely secure. According to a study by NerdWallet, fraud rates may actually increase when EMV technology is adopted in the U.S. and elsewhere. That being said, El Issa noted that a credit card with an EMV chip is still more secure when compared to a traditional magnetic stripe card. According to Sean McQuay, EMV chips create a unique payment code with every use. Therefore, McQuay notes that if a fraudster even stole the payment credentials, it would be worthless for any other purchase. But EMV technology does have limitations.

One limitation is that for the EMV technology to be functional, both the merchant and the consumer, needs to have adopted the EMV technology. Suppose a consumer holds a card embedded with chips but the merchant is not yet using the EMV technology then the new technology will be of no use.

But securing credit cards is an urgent need. According to a report by the Nilson Report, payment card fraud increased by 19% in 2014. Nilson Report further notes that fraud losses in the U.S. increased to 12.75 cents for every $100 in volume annually.

This morning, New York City-based SmartMetric Inc. (OTCQB:SMME) said that the effects of a string of high volume data breaches has exposed millions of stolen card numbers and cardholder identification information. According to SMME, losses due to card counterfeit are the single largest source of all card fraud losses in the U.S. with card issuers in the U.S. losing $3.89 billion last year due to card counterfeiting.

The increasing cases of credit card fraud though have created an opportunity for SmartMetric. SMME is the creator of a biometric fingerprint activated credit and debit card. SMME’s biometric payments card solution works with existing chip card readers in retail stores and ATMs without the need for additional hardware or systems at the bank. According to SmartMetric’s President and CEO, Chaya Hendrick, there has never been a greater need for a safer and stronger payments card security. Hendrick noted that the need for stronger card security for both the consumer and the card issuing Bank has never been more clearer. SMME, with its technology, certainly has a great opportunity to capitalize on this.

Shares of SMME have been on a downtrend since May, however seem to be finding a technical bottom around the $0.07 range and trying to make a move higher in today’s trading.

Copyright © 2015 AllPennyStocks.com. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of AllPennyStocks.com's content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AllPennyStocks.com. AllPennyStocks.com shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.