5 ms·
This is partly perception. With a magnetic card, after you slide your card, you can put your card immediately in your wallet, while the Point-Of-Sale solution
by cocoa19 9y ago
This is partly perception.
With a magnetic card, after you slide your card, you can put your card immediately in your wallet, while the Point-Of-Sale solution authorizes with the electronic payment host in the background.
With a chip card (EMV card), the EMV spec required the Point-Of-Sale solution to write an authorization number to the chip card. This means you need to leave your card inserted in the PIN pad until the payment host authorizes. Authorization usually takes 2-3 seconds.
To improve this perception, the industry came up with Quick Chip, which Point-Of-Sale software companies started to work on recently. With Quick Chip, the POS software doesn't need to write the payment host authorization number to your card chip anymore. You insert your card, account number is read, you take your card from the PIN pad immediately without waiting for payment host authorization.
-Software engineer working at a Point-Of-Sale software company.
- bichiliad 9y agoWhat's the advantage of writing the authorization number to the chip card? Will removing it reduce security in some way?
- cocoa19 9y agoI used the term "authorization number", but that was misleading. The real name is issuer scripts. It is used by card issuers to update the card parameters (chips have memory). According to EFT lab, these are 16 functions which include: Card Block, PIN Change or Unblock, Update other data I haven't read the full Quick Chip spec, but here is my guess (take it with a grain of salt): If card issuers are not able to update the card, then they won't be able to block the card. If the card is misused (e.g. stolen), there is a very small chance of retailers accepting fraudulent payments, but at least the following conditions should be met: 1. The POS solution should be offline from the authorization host, 2. The card should allow offline authorization and it has a "max offline amount" configured, 3. The sales amount does not exceed the configured offline amount in the card.
- sillysaurus3 9y agoAuthorization usually takes 2-3 seconds. The question seemed more along the lines of "Why does it take 2-3 seconds to authorize?"
- elicash 9y agoThe original question described chip readers as "slow." But slow relative to what? Cocoa19 is taking issue with the question to some degree, pointing out that they're not actually as slow relative to swiping as you might think (and how the perception issue is being addressed). Others have laid out reasons for the 2-3 seconds.
- jandrese 9y agoSlow relative to that quarter of a second it takes to swipe a magstripe.