4 ms·
Are you sure about this? In Canada we've had chip-and-PIN for almost a decade now (2009 I believe?), and almost all merchants have chip-capable POS terminals.
by a-priori 9y ago
Are you sure about this? In Canada we've had chip-and-PIN for almost a decade now (2009 I believe?), and almost all merchants have chip-capable POS terminals.
(Yes, really! I don't know what the delay is in the US.)
These terminals still have a mag stripe reader, and our cards have mag stripes as well. But they're just for compatibility: if you try to use the mag stripe of a chip-capable card on a chip-capable terminal, it beeps at your angrily and tells you to use the chip.
- gambiting 9y agoYeah, and you just put some paint over the chip, it will beep 3 times and then let you use the signature, even for cards which are marked "electronic use only". It's a failsafe for situations when the chip is genuinely damaged, the terminal lets you sign for the transaction.
- redblacktree 9y agoWhy would you want to disable the chip?
- gambiting 9y agoI wouldn't - I'm saying someone can trivially damage the chip on a stolen card and just use the mag stripe and signature instead.
- redblacktree 9y agoAh, I get it. Thanks for the explanation.
- nucleardog 9y agoMy interac card doesn't - if the chip fails the terminal will occasionally tell me to use the magstripe but the transaction is always declined.
- rconti 9y agoAnd Canada was only, what, a decade behind Europe? :)