Wal-Mart sues Visa in dispute over chip-enabled debit cards

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NEW YORK (AP) — Wal-Mart is suing Visa Inc., charging the payment network is not allowing the retail giant to let customers verify chip-enabled debit card transactions with what it believes is a more secure method: personal identification numbers.

In a suit filed in New York State courts Tuesday, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based discounter says Visa is forcing the retailer to allow customers to use a signature when they use the chip-based debit cards.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says in an email statement to The Associated Press the suit is about "protecting our customers' bank accounts" when they use their debit cards at the store.

It's also more costly. Wal-Mart pays about 5 cents more to Visa for each signature transaction than it does for the so-called PIN transactions.

Visa declined to comment.