MasterCard has become the second major card brand to announcethe intent to move payments from cards which supply consumer dataon magnetic stripes to cards which encode such information onembedded computer chips.

Visa announced its plans for a similar move to the EMV chiptechnology in August 2011.

MasterCard referred to its plan as a roadmap and said the planwould include the embedded chips; would work with merchantacquirers to have needed infrastructure in place by 2013; andinvolve consumers more in fraud prevention.

“We're moving toward a world beyond plastic, where consumerswill shop and pay in a way that best fits their needs andlifestyles with a simple tap, click or touch in-store, online or ona mobile device,” said Chris McWilton, president, U.S. Markets,MasterCard. “Our roadmap represents a transformational shift in theapproach to payments and is not simply about EMV, chip and PIN.We're focused on readying the ecosystem to drive future innovationand provide new consumer experiences to enhance the value ofelectronic payments.”

He added, “Customers from across the payments ecosystem havebeen asking for a roadmap. We believe we've provided issuers andmerchants with a vision to 'future proof' their businesses and theflexibility to manage their technology decisions to best meet theirgoals and priorities.”