Another important part is the EMV standards. EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa. These standards help ensure that all chip cards work the same way, no matter where I am in the world.

Also called a "chip card," smart credit and debit cards adhere to the Europay, MasterCard, Visa standard (see EMV). Smart cards can also be programmed to self-destruct if the wrong password is ...