Just as an FYI (and I can't believe this thread is still going) Within the business of taking credit cards at NBC, I have been told by two software vendors and one processor that chip-and-pin will be coming to the US around 2015. If you are a merchant, this will likely mean you'll need to purchase a new credit card swipe as many of the current ones are not set up to deal with chip/pin.
This is going to the two-point security model: "something you have" and "something you know." By moving to this level of security, it becomes more difficult for a miscreant to use a credit card. Your PIN is not stored on the card (hopefully you won't store it in your wallet/purse). There's also "something you are" but I've yet to figure out what that might entail (biometric maybe?). -Brian
