also called EMV PIN · chip and pin
Card authentication that uses an embedded chip plus a personal number rather than a signature.
Chip-and-PIN is proving a card is yours with the chip and a secret number you type in, rather than signing a slip. It is a step older than contactless payment, where you just tap; here you insert the card and enter your PIN. Signature-only cards, still common in the US, can flat-out fail at unattended machines that expect a PIN.
You are at a ticket machine at a European train station late at night, and your US card that only takes a signature is rejected. The machine wants a chip and a PIN it cannot get, there is no cashier, and you miss the last train because the card simply will not work there.
Signature-only US cards still fail at unattended European kiosks, trains, and some ATMs.
The difference is the whole point, so here is each one in a line.
These are the ways a card proves it is you and undoes a bad charge.
Chip-and-PIN authenticates in person with a chip and number, contactless pays by tapping within a limit, and 3-D Secure is the extra online step many foreign sites demand before accepting a card.
A chargeback is asking your issuer to reverse a transaction after fraud, non-delivery or a billing problem.
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