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NAFCU Executive Vice President of Government Affairs and General Counsel Carrie Hunt, in an editorial Wednesday in The Hill, called the retailer push for EMV transition a "delay tactic" to avoid real accountability through a strong national data security standard.

Hunt was pushing back against a Hill editorial by Lyle Beckwith of the National Association of Convenience Stores, that praised PIN technology. PIN technology, she pointed out, would do nothing to help consumers purchasing products online. She said "Cyber Monday" sales last year reached more than $3 billion and that online shopping is increasingly popular.

"The continued push for chip-and-PIN technology is another delay tactic for retailers to avoid true accountability through national data security standards," Hunt wrote. "PINs were developed by the banking industry for verification purposes at unmanned ATMs. It's a static data element. Chip-and-PIN would not have prevented the big breaches at Target, Home Depot or any of the recent attacks at Wendy's or Hyatt hotels."

Hunt emphasized that true data security requires a multi-tiered approach, including data security standards that would require retailers to implement internal protections against network intrusions and data theft.

She also touted the NAFCU-backed "Data Security Act" (H.R. 2205/S. 961), which was favorably reported out by the House Financial Services Committee in December. Credit unions and other financial institutions are already subject to data security standards under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The "Data Security Act" would require retailers to implement consumer data protection procedures as well.