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Visa: 2015 a watershed year in migration to chip cards

According to the latest figures from the network, there are now more chip cards in the U.S. than in any other country.

February 18, 2016

Seven in 10 U.S. consumers are now carrying chip cards.

According to the latest stats from Visa, 93 percent of American consumers are aware the U.S. is migrating to chip technology, and 2015 was "a watershed year" in regards to the migration to chip cards.

According to the latest figures from the network, there are now more chip cards in the U.S. than in any other country.

Visa offered the following stats for chip card growth in the U.S.:

• More than 212 million Visa chip cards have been issued in the U.S., an increase of 644 percent in the last year alone;
• The number of chip-activated merchant locations more than tripled in the second half of 2015 to  766,000 — a 872 percent increase year over year;
• Chip transactions grew more than 30 percent in December to a total of $15.8 billion compared with $12.1 billion in November;