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> Sadly swiping is being replaced by chipcard. I see this being downvoted, and I'm wondering if it's not simply just misinterpreted. Most places in the US I'v

> Sadly swiping is being replaced by chipcard. I see this being downvoted, and I'm wondering if it's not simply just misinterpreted. Most places in the US I've used chip&pin, the process goes like this: - arrive at merchant, select goods, get total. - look for a sign that says chip is not enabled. - failing that, move assuredly towards the chip reader and keep an eye on the cashier to ensure he or she doesn't move to stop you. - put card in reader (if enabled you can do this at any time - but doing it earlier won't save you time) - wait 2-10s while the reader figures out what to do - approve whatever you need to when it pops up. - wait 30-60 seconds for the transaction to go through, then find out you miskeyed your pin. - Repeat previous steps and associated waiting. Ignore eye-rolling of others in line. - walk out a satisfied customer. Obviously I drew it out as long as possible there for effect, but I've only ever seen very slow C&P implementations here. I am usually spending up to a minute waiting for the transaction to clear. By way of comparison, swipe cards take about 3-4 seconds to process. Debit cards with pins take 3-4 seconds + however long it takes you to type in the pin. So I full understand the "sadly" prepended to the statement.

adanto6840 10y ago
There are a few local B&M merchants here that are using a specific model of chip readers, if recollection serves me correctly they're all readers from First Data, that are astonishingly fast -- at least compared to the all the others, which you've quite-accurately described. Every time I go to the local mom-and-pop butcher shop I commend them on their chip reader's super fast processing speed -- and each time they comment that "Thanks, everyone says that!". I find it incredibly funny and frustrating that their card reader is so fast, enough so that others have noticed & commented on it too, while everywhere else -- the local chain grocery stores for instance -- consistently have roughly >=1 minute processing times. Also frustrating? The cashier has finished ringing my items up. I put my card in, select "No cash back", type in my PIN number, it thinks for a bit ... and then, it asks me if I want to confirm the charges?! No, I don't, I just typed in my PIN for kicks! I get it, it's to verify the amount, but I'd love to know what percent of the time a user [intentionally] selects "No" at that screen -- I probably _accidentally_ select "No" about 5% of the time, and roughly 0% of the time have I ever intended to select "No". Small things, but annoying UX overall. I'd think that many larger chain retailers are working on this. Some may have it solved w/ more "proprietary" systems; I don't shop at Target much lately, but I recall their payment UX being superior to most, unsure if their chip system is too though. I'd love to get the speed of swiping back! :-)
rospaya 10y ago
Any idea why is the experience this bad? I'm in Europe and never used swipe cards (haven't seen a cheque since I was a kid, not sure they're even used anymore, but I digress) but the experience is really simple and the times you mentioned are always shorter. Select goods, put the card in, enter PIN, 10 seconds later I'm walking out of the store. With contactless cards it's getting even simpler and faster and I insist buying at shops that use them. In that case the whole transaction is just one short beep and I'm out. If the total is over ~$20 then I also need to enter the PIN.
- 4ad 10y ago
  It's not that bad in Europe, but it's still bad. With swipe, I can swipe before the clerk has finished scanning my products, and then I can put my card back in my wallet. With chip, I have to wait after the clerk has scanned all the products and after he pressed the "pay with card" button on his terminal. During the authorization, I have to keep the card plugged into the POS. I do this while I bag my own goods, because in Europe the clerks do not fill up your bags like in the US. At some point during the packaging process, I have to stop to take my card back because I don't like to leave it there while the clerk has started processing the next customer. The experience sucks profoundly. The convenience at swiping at any time during idle time cannot be understated.
  - wudu 10y ago
    > With swipe, I can swipe before the clerk has finished scanning my products So you don't have any control over the amount he can enter/withdraw?
fragmede 10y ago
You missed the part where you put the card into the chip reader early, and it beeps loudly and everything stops while you read that the card can't go in early, so you take it out and huffily wait until it says enter card now.
ec109685 10y ago
Where does the pin come into play for chip based credit card purchases?
kevin_thibedeau 10y ago
Even better are the terminals set up to use the chip for credit transactions but require a swipe for debit (after inserting the card and selecting debit). Truly a WTF moment when that happens.

adanto6840 10y ago

There are a few local B&M merchants here that are using a specific model of chip readers, if recollection serves me correctly they're all readers from First Data, that are astonishingly fast -- at least compared to the all the others, which you've quite-accurately described. Every time I go to the local mom-and-pop butcher shop I commend them on their chip reader's super fast processing speed -- and each time they comment that "Thanks, everyone says that!". I find it incredibly funny and frustrating that their card reader is so fast, enough so that others have noticed & commented on it too, while everywhere else -- the local chain grocery stores for instance -- consistently have roughly >=1 minute processing times. Also frustrating? The cashier has finished ringing my items up. I put my card in, select "No cash back", type in my PIN number, it thinks for a bit ... and then, it asks me if I want to confirm the charges?! No, I don't, I just typed in my PIN for kicks! I get it, it's to verify the amount, but I'd love to know what percent of the time a user [intentionally] selects "No" at that screen -- I probably _accidentally_ select "No" about 5% of the time, and roughly 0% of the time have I ever intended to select "No". Small things, but annoying UX overall. I'd think that many larger chain retailers are working on this. Some may have it solved w/ more "proprietary" systems; I don't shop at Target much lately, but I recall their payment UX being superior to most, unsure if their chip system is too though. I'd love to get the speed of swiping back! :-)

rospaya 10y ago

Any idea why is the experience this bad? I'm in Europe and never used swipe cards (haven't seen a cheque since I was a kid, not sure they're even used anymore, but I digress) but the experience is really simple and the times you mentioned are always shorter. Select goods, put the card in, enter PIN, 10 seconds later I'm walking out of the store. With contactless cards it's getting even simpler and faster and I insist buying at shops that use them. In that case the whole transaction is just one short beep and I'm out. If the total is over ~$20 then I also need to enter the PIN.

4ad 10y ago
It's not that bad in Europe, but it's still bad. With swipe, I can swipe before the clerk has finished scanning my products, and then I can put my card back in my wallet. With chip, I have to wait after the clerk has scanned all the products and after he pressed the "pay with card" button on his terminal. During the authorization, I have to keep the card plugged into the POS. I do this while I bag my own goods, because in Europe the clerks do not fill up your bags like in the US. At some point during the packaging process, I have to stop to take my card back because I don't like to leave it there while the clerk has started processing the next customer. The experience sucks profoundly. The convenience at swiping at any time during idle time cannot be understated.
- wudu 10y ago
  > With swipe, I can swipe before the clerk has finished scanning my products So you don't have any control over the amount he can enter/withdraw?

fragmede 10y ago

You missed the part where you put the card into the chip reader early, and it beeps loudly and everything stops while you read that the card can't go in early, so you take it out and huffily wait until it says enter card now.

ec109685 10y ago

Where does the pin come into play for chip based credit card purchases?

kevin_thibedeau 10y ago

Even better are the terminals set up to use the chip for credit transactions but require a swipe for debit (after inserting the card and selecting debit). Truly a WTF moment when that happens.