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  1. Home
  2. Card Security
Secure your card

Built-in protection and security

Enjoy enhanced security with your chip-enabled card when used at a chip-enabled terminal online and over the phone.

Benefits
How it Works
FAQs

Shop Everywhere with Confidence

Enhanced Fraud Protection

When you use your card at a chip-enabled terminal, the embedded chip generates a one-time use code. This code is virtually impossible to counterfeit and helps reduce in-store fraud.

Global Acceptance

More merchants are accepting chip transactions every day. Whether you check out using chip technology or swipe your card, you can pay with confidence wherever Visa cards are accepted.

Easy to Use

Simply insert your card into a chip-enabled terminal or tap to pay at a contactless terminal. Then follow the prompts.

emvchip howitworks

How it Works

PenFed cards come with built-in chip technology. This gives you greater fraud protection when you use your card at a chip-enabled terminal. Your new card is not only more secure — it’s also easy to use.

  1. Insert the chip end of the card, face up, into the merchant terminal OR tap/hold the card no more than 1-2 inches from a contactless terminal.
  2. Keep your card in or at the terminal until prompted or the payment is confirmed.
  3. Remove your card, take your receipt — if applicable — and go!

FAQs

A chip and contactless card contains an embedded microchip. The chip encrypts account information to increase data security when making transactions at any chip/contactless terminal. All PenFed credit and debit cards now feature chip and contactless technology. You’ll continue to enjoy global acceptance plus an enhanced level of security.

Contactless payments use short-range proximity technology via near-field communication (NFC) to securely complete payments between a contactless card or a digital wallet and a chip/contactless terminal. When you tap to pay at the chip/contactless terminal (near the Contactless Symbol), your payment is sent for authorization.

Whenever you use your card at a chip-enabled or contactless terminal, the embedded chip generates a one-time cryptogram. The merchant never receives or transmits your actual card number. The one-time cryptogram makes it virtually impossible to counterfeit your card credentials.

At the merchant terminal or ATM, following the insertion of your card, if a PIN is required the terminal will guide you with the steps for PIN entry. NOTE: you must set your PIN prior to attempting the transaction.

All PenFed credit and debit cards can be authorized with or without a PIN. If the merchant accepts only a PIN, the PIN will be required.

If you want to set your PIN or change it on any PenFed card, please call 1-877-856-9690 or 541-225-6790 if overseas (collect). Note, you will need to call from the phone number on file.

Please learn more here.

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This credit union is federally insured by the National Credit Union Administration. Rates are current as of May 2025 unless otherwise noted and are subject to change.

APY = Annual Percentage Yield
APR = Annual Percentage Rate


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Routing #256078446

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