CLEVELAND, Ohio -- PNC Bank is in the process of upgrading its 370 ATMs in Northeast Ohio to better protect consumers against skimmers, data breaches and other sources of fraud.
The new-and-improved ATMs will accept ATM and debit cards that contain the new EMV chips. What this means is that customers whose cards contain chips would be protected if the ATM is compromised by a skimmer. Even if a person's information was stolen by the skimmer, it couldn't be used to create a counterfeit card that would work elsewhere.
Cards that contain EMV chips -- which stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa -- are more secure because each transaction is approved individually and has a one-time authentication code. So even if the information from one transaction is stolen, that information can't used for another transaction.
Watch this video to see how PNC's new ATMs work
In PNC's Northeast Ohio region that stretches from Youngstown to Canton to Sandusky, about 100 ATMs have been upgraded so far and 190 more
will be finished by next week. The remainder will be upgraded by mid-October. PNC has 9,000 ATMs nationwide.
Most PNC customers already have new ATM or debit cards that contain the all-important EMV chip, said Drew Martin, PNC's local market manager and an executive vice president. The rest will be sent out by year-end. If a customer really wants an EMV chip card now, they can request one. "But we're encouraging them to wait" until theirs arrives on the schedule PNC is following, Martin said.
Consumers using an ATM or debit card could have their account information and their PIN stolen if a retailer's computer system is hacked, Martin said. The information could also be stolen if an ATM has a skimmer installed, allowing thieves to capture a customer's information.
But with new ATMs that are upgraded with chip technology, even if information was stolen, it couldn't be used to create a clone card that would actually work, Martin said.
PNC's new ATM rollout comes on the eve of a new industry deadline: Starting next month, on Oct. 1, MasterCard is shifting fraud liability for any breaches at ATMs to the ATM owner. Visa is shifting liability Oct. 1, 2017. That's also the deadline for chip-readers at pay-at-the-pump gas stations.
Consumers have been seeing more and more chip-compliant payment terminals in stores and restaurants since last Oct. 1, when liability for fraud shifted to merchants if they don't have point-of-sale terminals that accept chip credit and debit cards.
Consumers who don't have chip ATM or debit cards will still be able to use PNC's new ATMs, Martin said, regardless whether they're a customer of PNC or another bank or credit union.
The upgraded ATMs will contain other bells and whistles too. The machines will contain protective keypad shields to give users more privacy. Customers will be able to customize their ATM settings, such as if they always like to withdraw $50 or $70. They also can request their receipt be emailed instead of being spit out of the ATM.
And, there's little chance of a person forgetting her card in the ATM. With the new ATMs, "you have to remove the card to receive your cash," Martin said.
The new ATMs and new chip cards don't do anything to protect consumers from online fraud. That could change in the future if and when card issuers require online shoppers to use one-time authorization codes sent by text message or email.