President Obama signed an executive order launching the BuySecure Initiative, which aims to encourage retailers to set up more-advanced, fraud-proof payment systems. Part of the plan is for government-issued debit and credit cards to include PIN and chip technology that helps protect against the data hacking, identity theft and online fraud experienced by some 100 million Americans over the past year. Federal payment card terminals will be updated to support the technology. Under the auspices of the Federal Trade Commission, the initiative will set up a one-stop resource for victims, at Identitytheft.gov. American Express has pledged $10 million to help small businesses upgrade their systems accordingly, and Visa says it will create a campaign to promote secure-payment technologies. “Retailers applaud the president’s action to advance card security,” said Sandy Kennedy, president of the Retail Industry Leaders Association. “This should serve as a catalyst for widespread adoption of PIN and chip-card security.”
