(by Ameli Berksman)

UK is a Europe leader in its rollout of EMV chip cards. Brazil is the second one to issue smart cards under EMV migration schedules.

UK debit card use is anticipated to increase during 2004 holiday shopping season. UK consumers are expected to use that kind of cards instead of PIN-secured credit cards, specialists say. 86% of UK cardholders are believed to have PIN-secured cards usable at most of the ATMs by the end of 2004.

Shift to a chip card payment system can lead to increasing card fraud as they are not really secure, North American banks wary. They promote 3-D Secure to retailers and consumers to be the best way to avoid card-not-present fraud.