With the liability for card fraud set to switch in one year to financial institutions and merchants that aren't ready for EMV, many credit unions are scrambling to transition from slide-and-sign to pin-and-chip.

Visa and MasterCard have cautioned that if financial institutions are not ready for EMV by next October, they could face significant financial and reputational risk. Less than 50% of card-issuing credit unions are expected to have both credit and debit cards set up for EMV by next fall, according to some industry insiders.

"One year out from what has been called EMV's D-Day, credit unions are all over the map in terms of readiness," Brandon Kuehl, senior product manager with The Members Group, a payments processor in Des Moines, Iowa, said. "While some have completed their credit card implementations and are starting to think through the same on their debit portfolios, others have not even outlined a timetable for migration."