Visa is changing how their debit and credit cards work in order to reduce the number of physical cards Americans need to carry around. With the new features, which will be available by summer, banks will be able to issue one physical payment card that’s connected to multiple bank accounts. That means your wallet could get thinner, since there will be no need to carry a debit card and a host of credit cards. Americans will be able to customize their payment settings with their bank, such as having all purchases below $100 or with a certain merchant go on their debit card, while other purchases go on their credit card. The change could make obsolete the 16-digit code you have to type in every time you shop on a new website. The new payment method marks the biggest changes to how purchases operate in the U.S. since companies introduced the chip-embedded cards in 2010. Visa said its decision to shake things up is a response to outsized fraud involving online payments. The new features will take time to be brought on by individual banks, which will decide when or what to implement for their customers.
