5 ms·

I curious how much slower the chip (EMV, or or 'old-style) is than the magetic swipe? Here in EU there is not difference, the transaction is done in couple of s

I curious how much slower the chip (EMV, or or 'old-style) is than the magetic swipe? Here in EU there is not difference, the transaction is done in couple of seconds max and most of this is the time spent waiting for authorization response. The entry mode chip/magtripe/contactless doesn't make that much difference.

throwaway613834 9y ago
It definitely feels like it takes forever and completely disrupts the motion I'm in by making me wait around to do nothing. I've never timed it but the 10 extra seconds I read [1] sounds pretty accurate. [1] https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transactions/ https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transac...
- have_faith 9y ago
  In the UK at least, chip takes about 2 - 3 seconds. 4 or 5 would feel long. Contactless is usually instantaneous; I assume there's more caching involved somewhere. I haven't seen anyone or myself swiped in about 10 years, and that was only because the chip reader wasn't working at the time.
  - CyberMuz 9y ago
    Contactless transactions for smaller amounts are often offline approved without requesting approval from the bank/network. This takes off the 2-3 seconds of the transaction time.
- csydas 9y ago
  Because it's a different experience in the US versus EU. I'm a US expat and my experience at registers abroad is way different with my PIN+Chip card -most of the time I use contactless, but for the few shops that have held-off upgrading their terminal, it's still pretty fast. I barely have enough time to put groceries in a bag before I feel my phone notify me of the transaction completion and the terminal tells me to remove my card.
- jdietrich 9y ago
  It baffles me that the US is still struggling to get chip-and-pin working properly, when most of Europe has been using chip-and-pin for over a decade and is now transitioning to contactless. America seems weirdly bad at this sort of co-ordination problem.
  - skykooler 9y ago
    America doesn't even have chip-and-pin at all; we have ship and signature, which is a security joke (I've never seen anyone check the signature).
    - tosstossy 9y ago
      This is not true. Maybe in your region of the USA chip and signature is prevalent but in my experience (SF bay area) every chip transaction has required a PIN. Or perhaps it's your card-issuing bank?
      - dmitrygr 9y ago
        Debit vs credit. AFAIK ALMOST NO US-based banks issue chip+pin credit cards. Only chip+signature. Debit cards are indeed chip+pin, but in USA you'd have to be careless to ever use a debit card anywhere but an ATM.
        rconti 9y ago
        This. I'd NEVER give thieves access to my bank account, that's what credit cards are for. Chip transactions take ~5 seconds, it just feels slow because with a swipe you can put the card away in your wallet while the processing is happening. Chip+PIN doesn't really exist for US CCs. I've setup PINs on a few cards but they only work overseas where the terminal refuses signature.
        inferiorhuman 9y ago
        Mastercard vs Visa. Visa issued cards do not typically support chip-and-pin. Mastercard issued credit cards often do.
drzaiusapelord 9y ago
Apparently, there's an optimization that needs to get done with the retailer's bank. Big retailers have this completed so their chip transactions are very fast. Smaller ones either don't or need to go through a middle-man servicer which adds time and god knows if the middle man has completed this optimization. Subway restaurants, which are individually franchised, are like this. They just have one of those cheap chip terminals and the transactions can take 30+ seconds. Meanwhile at Walgreens it only takes a few seconds. A lot of this has to do with Quick Chip, which forgoes writing the host authorizer ID to the credit card's chip thus simplifying and shortening the transaction. QC rollouts happen at whatever pace retailers want, so you'll see some shops using QC and others that don't. https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transactions/ https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transac...

throwaway613834 9y ago

It definitely feels like it takes forever and completely disrupts the motion I'm in by making me wait around to do nothing. I've never timed it but the 10 extra seconds I read [1] sounds pretty accurate. [1] https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transactions/ https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transac...

have_faith 9y ago
In the UK at least, chip takes about 2 - 3 seconds. 4 or 5 would feel long. Contactless is usually instantaneous; I assume there's more caching involved somewhere. I haven't seen anyone or myself swiped in about 10 years, and that was only because the chip reader wasn't working at the time.
- CyberMuz 9y ago
  Contactless transactions for smaller amounts are often offline approved without requesting approval from the bank/network. This takes off the 2-3 seconds of the transaction time.
csydas 9y ago
Because it's a different experience in the US versus EU. I'm a US expat and my experience at registers abroad is way different with my PIN+Chip card -most of the time I use contactless, but for the few shops that have held-off upgrading their terminal, it's still pretty fast. I barely have enough time to put groceries in a bag before I feel my phone notify me of the transaction completion and the terminal tells me to remove my card.
jdietrich 9y ago
It baffles me that the US is still struggling to get chip-and-pin working properly, when most of Europe has been using chip-and-pin for over a decade and is now transitioning to contactless. America seems weirdly bad at this sort of co-ordination problem.
- skykooler 9y ago
  America doesn't even have chip-and-pin at all; we have ship and signature, which is a security joke (I've never seen anyone check the signature).
  - tosstossy 9y ago
    This is not true. Maybe in your region of the USA chip and signature is prevalent but in my experience (SF bay area) every chip transaction has required a PIN. Or perhaps it's your card-issuing bank?
    - dmitrygr 9y ago
      Debit vs credit. AFAIK ALMOST NO US-based banks issue chip+pin credit cards. Only chip+signature. Debit cards are indeed chip+pin, but in USA you'd have to be careless to ever use a debit card anywhere but an ATM.
      - rconti 9y ago
        This. I'd NEVER give thieves access to my bank account, that's what credit cards are for. Chip transactions take ~5 seconds, it just feels slow because with a swipe you can put the card away in your wallet while the processing is happening. Chip+PIN doesn't really exist for US CCs. I've setup PINs on a few cards but they only work overseas where the terminal refuses signature.
      - inferiorhuman 9y ago
        Mastercard vs Visa. Visa issued cards do not typically support chip-and-pin. Mastercard issued credit cards often do.

drzaiusapelord 9y ago

Apparently, there's an optimization that needs to get done with the retailer's bank. Big retailers have this completed so their chip transactions are very fast. Smaller ones either don't or need to go through a middle-man servicer which adds time and god knows if the middle man has completed this optimization. Subway restaurants, which are individually franchised, are like this. They just have one of those cheap chip terminals and the transactions can take 30+ seconds. Meanwhile at Walgreens it only takes a few seconds. A lot of this has to do with Quick Chip, which forgoes writing the host authorizer ID to the credit card's chip thus simplifying and shortening the transaction. QC rollouts happen at whatever pace retailers want, so you'll see some shops using QC and others that don't. https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transactions/ https://www.cardfellow.com/quick-chip-slow-chip-card-transac...