Blame It on the Pin to Swipe & Sign

Chip Cards Will Require Users to Dip Rather Than Swipe, by Marquel, TPVs NYTimes Swipe And Remember To Wipe Section correspondent.

Marquel, TPVs NYTimes Swipe And Remember To Wipe Section correspondent, was visiting an uncle in a hotel for the elderly, when he read that Chip Cards Will Require Users to Dip Rather Than Swipe, and he became confused.

A change in how credit and debit cards are used may be the only sign many consumers have of a big behind-the-scenes shift in the payment industry.

Retailers and the banks disagree about why banks are not transitioning to the chip-and-PIN cards that are widely used in Europe. Banks say that the process would be too confusing to the consumer, but some said the answer was much simpler: money.

Marquel wondered why Americans are deemed by their banks too confused to remember a 4 digit number instead of signing.

“Don’t customers already use a 4 number pin to use their debit cards?” Asked Marquel.

“Yes, but not everybody has a debit card. The large majority of credit card users have to sign. ”  said the bank.

“We fear so. They wouldn’t know when to sign and when to pin.” he said.

“I can tell you customers do crazy things.” He said.

“Ah, Canada. A very literate country. Yes, they don’t get confused.” He said.

“But they’re also very polite. Can you imagine an American who couldn’t get his chip plus pin to work? We might have one of those mass killings. It’s too risky for us.” He said.

“Well they’re certainly healthier. But after they pay taxes, they have so little left they probably don’t even use their chip plus pin cards. It’s not a simple problem.” He said.

“You might be right. Do you want to end up like them? Or broke like the Greeks?” He asked.

“I think that’s a fair statement.” He said.