The long-awaited trial of chip and pin, the UK banking
industry’s multibillion-pound anti-fraud initiative, began today
(19 May) in Northampton.
Chip and pin requires cardholders to authenticate purchases with
a personal identification number (PIN) rather than a signature.
The trial will see more than 850,000 retailer terminals, 122
million cards and 40,000 cash machines upgraded by the end of
2004.
Northampton consumers will be prompted to use their pin for one
in every two or three transactions using a range of debit and
credit cards.
American Express, Barclaycard, Barclays Bank, the Co-operative
Bank, Egg, Girobank Merchant Services, HSBC, Lloyds TSB,
MasterCard, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Switch and Visa are
all participating in the trial.
Around 1,000 retailers, from large and small shops to petrol
stations, pubs, hotels and restaurants, are expected to
participate. Large retailers already committed to the trial include
All Sports, Asda, the Co-operative Group, JD Sports, and Marks
& Spencer.
Retail and banking industry figures said chip and pin will be
key to addressing card fraud, which reached a record £424.6m in
2002. The aim is to cut card fraud by half.
The chips on credit and debit cards will meet new global
specifications known as EMV (Europay/MasterCard and Visa).