The interruptions by the card companies in installing the equipment for retailers to accept new chip-based cards have slowed down chip card transition, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).
A recent NRF revealed that 86% of retailers plan to have the new EMV chip card technology completely implemented by the end of 2016.
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Of those who do not yet have EMV in use, 57% said they had already installed the equipment but were waiting for certification by the card industry so they could start using it. Approximately 60% of retailers said they had been waiting for six months or longer.
NRF senior vice president and general counsel Mallory Duncan said: “Most major retailers have done their part, but the card industry continues to drop the ball. Retailers have spent billions of dollars to install the new equipment but card companies have failed to sign off on the installations in a timely manner.
“Many retailers have had new chip card readers sitting next to their cash registers for a year waiting for the card companies’ blessing. We wish they cared as much about security as we do.
“This is frustrating for retailers and confusing for consumers. Worst of all, the new cards provide just a fraction of the security they could because they are only chip-and-signature rather than the chip-and-PIN used throughout the rest of the industrialized world.
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By GlobalData“Without a secret PIN, virtually any illegible scrawl of a signature is good enough for a criminal to use an innocent person’s credit card with or without a chip.”
