After months of anticipation, Bank of America is finally beginning to roll out an EMV program that will impact its consumer and small business debit cards. On Wednesday, the bank announced that all consumer and small business debit cards will include an EMV security chip, matching the technology already included in most of its credit cards. This will make Bank of America the first major bank in the United States to implement EMV technology into its debit cards.

The EMV chip technology encrypts transaction information every time the card is used. According to Bank of America, this information will change with each use, making fraud difficult. Although Bank of America is the first major American bank to use EMV in its debit cards, the expectation is that others will join them and this will become the standard. 

Although these cards will still have a working magnetic strip and merchants will still be able to swipe them the traditional way, there is a great deal of excitement regarding the new technology. Titi Cole, the retail products and underwriting executive for Bank of America, discussed the value of implementing EMV chips into its cards.

"Chip technology is an important tool in increasing card security, and we want our customers to have the best possible experience when using their payment cards," Cole said in a statement. "The new chip-enabled debit cards will improve security of customers' transactions when traveling abroad and at home as more U.S. merchants adopt chip technology."

As this catches on, it will be important for merchants to take note of any necessary changes they may have to make to comply with new security standards. While ultimately this trend should help keep card data secure and protect customers from theft, it's important for merchants to work with a payment solutions provider to ensure they are prepared to accommodate their customers moving forward.