ARLINGTON, Va. – Any credit union executives who might have looked to updated credit and debit card technologies for ways to better combat card fraud should not hold their breath.

Executives with the Smart Card Alliance, a leading smart card manufacturer, and Visa USA agreed that, for a variety of reasons, the introduction of smart cards to fight card fraud in the U.S. is unlikely – at least in the near future – even though the increased use of smartcards overseas will make cards issued in the U.S. steadily more attractive fraud targets.

Some credit union industry executives, such as Jeff Post, CEO of CUNA Mutual Group, have called for Visa USA to begin supporting the use of smart cards to fight fraud. But the executives countered that a mixture of factors, most notably the cost of making such a change and resistance on the part of a majority of merchants, would keep smart cards from becoming the dominant card issued in the U.S.