Why Your Credit Card Is Going ‘Chip-and-PIN'

Many Americans have received a new credit or debit card in the mail in with a computer chip on the front. If you're not sure what the chip is all about, you're not alone.

The new chip-embedded cards is part of a nationwide shift to beef up credit-card security, NBC News reported. The new "smart" chip cards use EMV (which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa) technology.

The chip generates a unique code every time the card is used, unlike the traditional magnetic-strip cards which retain the same code. If a hacker got a hold of that strip information, they could make a physical copy of the card. 

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