Mathematically, there are 10,000 possible ways the numbers 0 through 9 can be used to create a four-digit PIN. “It ensures that whoever holds that item is the one authorized to use it.” “It’s kind of like your fingerprint on your phone or the pattern you use to unlock your phone,” Benda says. Paul Benda, senior vice president for operational risk and cybersecurity at the American Bankers Association, says a PIN - formally, a personal identification number - is the authenticator that makes sure the person who’s using the card is legit.
Regardless, you're PIN-less, annoyed and asking, why do we need PINs, anyway? And why do financial institutions make them so hard to change? Or maybe your brain yeeted it out of your memory for no reason. Maybe you all but stopped shopping IRL because of the pandemic. Maybe you've been relying on your credit card because of the stronger protections and rewards it offers compared to your debit card.