adminDespite a big push by retailers to get attorneys general (AG) from around the country to sign a letter requiring PIN numbers be used with new EMV cards instead of signatures, only AGs from eight states and the District of Columbia signed the letter sent to the major credit card networks. The League spoke several times to the AGs in Alabama and Florida to give them the facts about PIN and signature requirements. Thanks to the League’s efforts, neither AG signed the letter.
The retailers were looking for the backing of state AGs to urge the CEOs and credit card networks to require the use of PIN numbers instead of signatures on purchases made with EMV-chip cards. In the letter, the AGs wrote that PINs provide greater protection from fraud and data breaches. The League pointed out to the Alabama and Florida AGs that PIN requirements would not have prevented the breaches at the major box retailers Target and Home Depot. The League feels the most important piece of data security is to have retailers comply with a strict set of standards that financial institutions are already implementing.
The letter was signed by the attorneys general from Connecticut, D.C., Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington
