Chip and PIN One Year On

28th February 2007

It is now just over one year since the official change over to Chip and PIN in the UK. Chip and PIN is the new, more secure way to pay with a credit card using a four digit PIN number rather than a signature. APACS, the UK payment association, has released an update on the implementation, one year on.

More than 99.9 per cent of all Chip and PIN card transactions are now verified by a PIN, with over 185 Chip and PIN transactions taking place every second.

As of January 2007, the UK's banks and credit card companies have now issued over 138 million Chip and PIN cards which represents 97% of the UK's total of 142 million payment cards. Any remaining non Chip and PIN cards will continue to be upgraded throughout 2007.

As part of the implementation of Chip and Pin throughout the UK, approximately 900,000 shop tills have been upgraded to chip and PIN and as customers have got used to using their PIN number for all transactions, retailers have reported that transaction times have become quicker and as a result queues in shops have reduced.

"The rollout of Chip and Pin has been a tremendous success and as a result, it is now safer than ever to use your card when shopping and far more difficult for fraudsters to get access to your money." said Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS.