Cash Passport addresses a very real – and, in some ways, unfortunate – reality. The US payments market is so far behind Europe’s the US cards are simply not working. Much of Europe is rapidly migrating away from the magnetic strip to chip-and-PIN NFC payments. And even the mag strips we use here in the US are becoming so outdated that US consumers visiting, say, London are having a tough go. For example, a mag-strip credit card simply cannot be used for the London Underground, and that’s a big problem if you’re visiting the British capital.
A few cards are issued in the United States that have the Chip and PIN technology, notably by the United Nations Credit Union, who would be exepcted to think globally. Whether the market will be big enough for other issuers to start providing the same kinds of cards remains to be seen. Prepaid may lead the way simply because it fills what will be, for the near future, an niche need.
Read the full blog post at: http://www.bankinnovation.net/profiles/blogs/travelex-chips-away-at-us
