Identity theft, by way of credit card fraud, has long been a fear shared by many consumers. Credit cards can easily be used fraudulently if they are simply lost or stolen and now with technology, credit card data is even easier to steal. The use of phishing websites and skimmers has become increasingly common and credit cards offer little or no security to counter these devices.

What if I told you there was a more secure option for credit card payments? What if I told you it has been around for years?

Canada, China, and the majority of Europe have been using them since 2008. Many international travelers may have already experienced the disappointment of having their “standard” credit card rejected by a store or restaurant while abroad.

The new credit card option is called an EMV card, or Europay MasterCard Visa (named after the companies who developed it). These cards have an embedded microchip that add additional levels of security to every transaction. Transaction information is uniquely encoded every time, making it more difficult for skimmers to nab easily duplicated payment data from the cards.

These cards require different processing terminals to take payment information, which is why many people may have their cards rejected in foreign countries that have already adopted EMV cards. Many American companies have already started to offer EMV cards for people who frequently travel internationally but they are not yet offered to normal consumers. Visa and MasterCard are working hard to get the United States to switch and the change is coming, slowly but surely. MasterCard has been making a strong effort to persuade all U.S. ATM makers to upgrade their machines to accept EMV by April, 1^st 2013. Most likely the United States will have converted completely to EMV cards and terminals by 2015. So be prepared to see new credit cards coming your way and make sure to take advantage of all the security features they offer.