Chip-and-PIN declared a success
Apacs says fraud on lost and stolen cards has fallen by a quarter
Six months on from its launch, the introduction of chip-and-PIN has been declared a success by the UK payments association Apacs.
Banks have issued more than 130 million chip-and-PIN cards, or 92 per cent of the total, and 99.8 per cent of chip-and-PIN transactions are PIN verified.
More than 87 per cent of tills have also been upgraded this year to accept chip-and-PIN and fraud on lost and stolen cards dropped 24 per cent, saving nearly £60m.
‘Britain is now a truly mature chip-and-PIN nation and millions have adapted to the change with no problems at all,' said Apacs spokeswoman Sandra Quinn.
‘This means that we are all a lot safer when we go shopping and fraudsters have been denied millions of pounds of stolen money. Of course it has not eradicated fraud and fraudsters will continue to target us and our money.’
She says consumers need to remain vigilant, but chip-and-PIN has made it much safer to use cards than two years ago.
Apacs says over 150 chip-and-PIN transactions take place every second, compared to 125 six months ago, and retailers are reporting that transactions times have become quicker and queues shorter.
Cards continue to be upgraded this year, with more than two million upgraded since PIN day (February 14).
Retailers have also been reminded that they should still accept signatures from certain card holders such those from countries without chip-and-PIN, those with a chip-and-signature card and those whose cards have yet to be upgraded.
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