Recently, I was granted the distinct privilege of testifying before the House Small Business Committee to comment on an issue that is of paramount importance to credit unions across the United States: The security of customer data in an era of rampant cybercrime. Specifically, I spoke to lawmakers about the significance of the transition to the EMV chip payment system and how EMV is but one part of a larger data security picture.
Due to the traveling habits and job assignments of many of our members at State Department Federal Credit Union, and with 8 percent of our members located overseas at any given time, we began issuing EMV VISA credit cards in June 2012. We were one of the first financial institutions in the U.S. to do so. Today, our credit card portfolio, which exceeds 28,000 cards, is 100 percent EMV.