MasterCard and Visa may be trying to whip merchants into shape with their carrot-and-stick approach, but legislators in Wisconsin seem to think that the force of law has a better chance.

Companion bills working their way through the Wisconsin House of Representatives and Senate would prohibit merchants from retaining consumers’ PINs or security codes after processing credit or debit card transactions. If a merchant ignores the law and the information is lost, the party responsible for the loss would have to pay costs to close consumers accounts and re-issue cards, and potentially pay for identity theft protection and crediting affected accounts for fraudulent transactions.

The bills, brought to the legislature by the Wisconsin Credit Union League, have strong public support.

Bank Technology News