Can a mag strip reader be used on a chip card?

[lauriemc]

Can a mag strip reader be used on a chip card?

[George]

Great question. You can use a chip card on a magstripe reader, but as of last fall, the liability for fraudulent charges has shifted to the seller in these instances.

If you dip the chip card into a chip card reader (visit http://square.com/shop for options), then your bank (and not you) is liable for fraudulent charges.

Check out http://square.com/liability for a full explanation on the liability shift.

[jdavis]

I'm getting "decline" trying to use the mag stripe reader with chip cards.  Is this something I need to be worried about?  Is the chip reader going to be mandatory at some point?  It's happened twice- different client, same bank. 2 transactions in a row.

Please advise

[George]

You should still be able to use your magstripe reader with chip cards. If someone's card is getting declined, perhaps another card of theirs will work.

I can't speculate on whether a chip reader will be mandatory at some point. For now, it's not.

[ThierrLRC]

This happens to me even with the chip reader when it is a foreign card. The entire world use chip cards + PIN. The US is the last country to join the group but the PIN will be introduced only in 3 years... in the meantime that creates problems with international cards... After all the US only had 20 years to get ready... 🙂

You can enter it manually but that would be a risk of course

[mremele]

In order to use the mag strip reader on a chip card, the chip reader must be turned off.

There is a small button the back of the chip reader, but bringing it back online takes a bit of time. I find it easier to disable bluetooth on the iPad. Turn bluetooth back on and the chip reader starts communicating fairly quickly.

[Markus]

Re: Can a mag strip reader be used on a chip card?

[Markus]

No button found. Small needle hole like iPad iPhone and MacBk for reset is on bottom edge side of reader... Maybe it'll go with what was stated previous about making chip Card off temporarily.

[Sean]

@Markus Feel free to reach out to our Support Team directly too. They may be able to provide more insight into why the transaction is being declined: squareup.com/code.