August 10, 2009
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U.S. Credit Card Technology being Eclipsed?, Pt.3
What's a nation to do?For the time being, the process is being phased over slowly. Larger cities will continue to accept American credit cards until the end (about two years). More remote places hav already stopped accepting credit cards that only use magnetic stripes. So, although inconvenient, a person can still survive these conditions. For now, in the UK, the credit card readers support both types, m chip & PIN and magnetic stripe. A spokesman for the U.K. Payments Administration, Mark Bowerman concedes the necessity for their country to continue support both kinds to avoid loss of incoming revenues from countries not yet up to speed with technology.
Bowerman admits that things will become more and more difficult over time as new European staff will not be well-trained in processing these archaic media. Mistakes will be made and problem areas will continue to grow, like the signing of credit card receipts and the rules that govern. The credit cards have built-in instructions for a cashier to follow but, like most people, some cashiers are intimidated by blindly having to follow instructions from a machine. In some cases, it may necessary for a patron to ask for a manager.
One other bit of reprieve is that the major credit card associations (like VISA and MasterCard) have long been international and have already laid down policies that will protect every country that participates. When (or if) push comes to shove, these associations are in a strong position to be mediators. Referred to as 'international interoperability' merchants that enjoy the advantages of accepting credit cards affiliated with these associations are still required to accept mag-stripe cards. So, even if their card readers don’t accommodate these cards, the merchant is still required to accept these cards somehow.
Another issue that is evolving is the plight of citizens from those other countries traveling to the US (or other nation still only using the "swipe" cards). With few, if any American merchants equipped to accommodate the "Chip & PIN" technology, these unfortunate credit card holders suffer the same fate as Americans abroad.