What is Chip and Pin Cards

Recently, some banks in the United States have moved away from magstripes.
Instead, they're issuing cards containing tiny microchips that are activated with a personal identification number (PIN).
These microchip cards, already popular in Europe, store the same type of information that a credit card does.
When the card is inserted into a reader, two electrical contacts create a current that transfers the information through a point-of-sale system for verification and processing.
The readers for these cards are expensive, but the security and universality advantages of these cards make them worthwhile.