Consumers slow on chip cards
Published:
August 10, 2015
With an Oct. 2015 changeover deadline looming, the process of replacing existing credit cards and terminals with EMV or "chip" cards and equipment has many retailers scrambling -- but not consumers, according to an Associated Press-GFK poll.
The poll finds that most Americans have not received such cards, and that the few who have them are not using them as intended. About one in 10 have received the chip-enabled cards. Of those consumers, one in three say they have used the cards in new card readers.
The chip cards, which have been used in Canada, Europe and elsewhere for more than a decade, transmit a one-time code when inserted in a specialized card reader. Thieves are unable to use a stolen code to make other purchases. However, many users are still swiping chip cards as they always have, although they are supposed to insert the card into the reader for several seconds. |