A Way to Go on Chip and Pin

by Gill Montia

Story link: A Way to Go on Chip and Pin

The Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs), the body that represents banks and credit card companies, has issued a report stating that approximately one in 10 tills in the UK have not been updated to accept the chip and pin method of payment. So far, 770,000 of the country’s 860,000 tills have not been upgraded.

The chip and pin system reduces fraud because it includes a smart chip, which can store more information than the usual magnetic strip. It is also safer to verify transactions by using in a pin number rather than a signature.

According to a survey by the Association of Convenience Stores, which represents 32,000 shopkeepers, some small independent businesses are not intending to take up chip and pin, mainly because of the cost involved in the change. However, most members of the British Retail Consortium, which represents more than 80% of the UK retail market, have the new system up and running.

The majority of UK card issuers have been replacing credit and debit cards with chip and pin but some cardholders still have an old-style card and can continue to use a signature when making payments. According to Apacs, 127 million out of 141 million cards in the UK are now chip and pin.