Chip cards may be getting faster thanks to Mastercard’s M/Chip Fast technology

Sure, they might be more secure, but in terms of quickness, chip cards seem to still have a ways to go. After all, how many times have you impatiently tapped your toes as you waited for that chip reader to finish verifying your card in the checkout line? After all, swiping never seemed to take as long when inserting your credit card. Mastercard is hoping to ameliorate some of these frustrations, as it partners with “payments industry leaders to enhance and expedite the consumer checkout experience by leveraging the company’s M/Chip Fast technology.”

And who are these leaders Mastercard refers to? First is Verifone, who will be incorporating M/Chip Fast into its products in the U.S. The M/Chip Fast technology is said to prioritize the parts of a transaction most important to security, thereby expediting the checkout process. And now that Verifone is adopting this methodology, the hope is that retailers across the country will soon see quicker checkout times.

“Verifone is committed to creating faster and easier payment experiences for merchants and their customers, said Paul Galant, chief operating officer of Verifone. “This collaboration with Mastercard covers a myriad of different use cases across a range of retail verticals.”

Global Payments will also make Mastercard’s technology available to merchants including fast food chains, grocery stores, transit vendors, and more, all of which value speed as a crucial component of the positive customer experience.

As Craig Vosburg, president of North America for Mastercard noted at payments conference TRANSACT, “EMV [the global standard for chip cards] is an essential upgrade to the payments infrastructure in the U.S., which is now the largest chip market in the world and still growing. Great collaboration is happening within the industry and progress is being made in the fight against counterfeit card fraud.”

He concluded, “M/Chip Fast also helps move checkout lines as it is built on nearly two decades of contactless or ‘tap-and-go’ convenience and security. Aligning with Verifone and Global Payments supports our desire to get this tool in the hands of more merchants.”