ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Three credit union clients of FIS will begin issuing EMV chip enabled cards later this year as part of a pilot program with the new technology, according to an FIS executive.

Robert Bream, president of FIS' North American Card and Payment Solutions, revealed the existence of the three Friday in response to a question at the annual meeting of Card Services for Credit Unions, the association of credit unions that process payments with FIS.

Bream said he could not recall whether the three would issue credit or debit cards, noting that he had not been prepared to speak in detail on the topic.  A total of five card issuers will be part of the pilot, he said.

Once the rollout occurs, the number of credit unions issuing the chip cards will grow to at least five.  United Nations FCU in New York and State Employees' Credit Union in Raleigh, N.C., already have said they will begin issuing the cards, which carry security protections now widely used in Europe.