SunTrust Banks, Inc. is now offering EMV chip technology in all new consumer, business and commercial credit cards as an additional layer of protection for client information. The embedded microchips provide stronger transaction security features not previously possible on cards with only the traditional magnetic stripe.

SunTrust has started issuing chip cards for new card accounts and for existing cards as they expire.  This action is more than a year in advance of the credit card industry's October 2015 transition to chip technology.

"Protecting our clients' information is a responsibility we take very seriously," said Beverly Ladley, SunTrust's client segments and solutions executive. "Adding chip technology makes an already secure card even safer and provides our clients with an extra level of protection."

At merchants with chip-enabled terminals, SunTrust clients will insert their chip card into the terminal instead of swiping it and, then simply follow any additional prompts on the screen. In some cases, the terminal will require a personal identification number, or PIN, to authenticate the user and help protect the account holder from identity theft.  Cardholders will select their own PIN as part of activating any new chip card.  During the transition to chip technology, traditional magnetic stripe-only cards will continue to be accepted as they are today.

SunTrust is a member of the EMV Migration Forum, an independent, cross-industry body created by the Smart Card Alliance to address issues that require broad cooperation and coordination across many constituents in the payments space to promote the efficient, timely, and effective migration to EMV for payment cards, devices, and terminals in the U.S.  A broad cross-section of leading payments brands, issuers, payments processors and industry suppliers are participants in the effort to establish the EMV Migration Forum.