Obama requires government credit cards to have Chip and PIN

In a broader move aimed at stemming payment data breaches, President Barack Obama issued an executive order on Friday to have secure chip-and-PIN technology embedded into government-issued credit and debit cards.

Instead of the usual magnetic strips, government-issued cards that transmit federal benefits such as Social Security will have microchips embedded. They will also have associated PIN's like those typically used for consumer debit cards.

The goal is to have more than 1 million card issued by the end of the year with the first rolling out Jan. 1st.

A chip-and-PIN system is designed to make it harder for cyber criminals to steal payment card info. The technology isn't new. It is already standard in Europe but will require U.S. retailers to have special readers that are able to scan the chip plus require the entry of a PIN.

For now, the executive order only applies to federal agency facilities, but he is hoping it will inspire retailers to get on board.