Having had the week from hell! This will be swiftly followed by a weekend full of R and R, one can o...
Having had the week from hell! This will be swiftly followed by a weekend full of R and R, one can only hope!!
Member since:07.02.2003
Reviews:22
Members who trust:19
N.B. Admittedly this could be under the wrong heading. Although it doesn’t come under Direct Debits, it does come under payment services, perhaps a general heading in this category would be useful; anyway that is why I have added it here! For the sake of argument we’ll call it blurring the line!
Chip and PIN is a new initiative being pioneered by the banking sector and a number of major retailers. Chip and PIN will be a revolutionary change for consumers in the way in which the complete card transactions at the point of sale.
Pin is a personal identification number- this will contain four-digits which will be assigned or chosen by the cardholder. The cardholder only knows the pin and this will significantly reduce card fraud.
To comply with banking guidelines the UK is required to be compliant with chip and pin by the end of 2004. This means that 42 Million cards will have to be re-issued (Although most non-chip cards will be replaced when they expire) a public trial has already begun in Northampton where the whole area is live for chip and pin. A phased roll out throughout the country has also now begun.
Why Chip and PIN?
There are 42 million plastic payment cards in circulating in the UK, currently all cards use a magnetic strip to store the cardholders information and the cardholders signature is used as verification. Both these methods are extremely easy for fraudsters to duplicate. In 2001 fraud levels reached £411 million, these have a predicted growth of 30% per year. This is quite clearly costing the economy a lot of money; the cost of fraud is passed on to everyone as consumers. Therefore chip and PIN provides a solution that makes sure that the card is genuine and the cardholder owns the card.
Benefits to the customer
Increased security and control of cards. An example, which illustrates this is paying in a restaurant, the customer would not hand over their card, and The PIN pad device would be wireless and available at the customer’s table.
PIN is not a new and original concept. PINS are already in operation at cash points and on mobile phones. This system is also widely used in France.
The process of completing a card transaction would be uniformed and consistent through the UK. Benefits to Business
Customer service would be more efficient. Customers would feel secure knowing fraud prevention methods are in place.
Bank regulations would be followed, thus avoiding financial penalties.
Dynamic, innovative and creative business will embrace this new technology and use it to their advantage in terms of public relations, operations management and customer service.
A typical retail transaction
The transaction would proceed as usual at the point where payment would be presented, the chip would be read by the till and the customer would be asked to type their pin into a PIN pad on the counter (these would be shielded from view) by typing in the PIN the customer has agreed the contract between the merchant and the customer (this is the same as signature verification currently- you sign to agreed to pay for the goods, and so the sales assistant can check the signatures match) and that’s it! This should be far more efficient (as long as the senile among us [myself included] remember our PIN number, I regularly ring Arrabella to ask her what mine is! Also it will take the pressure from shop assistants in accepting signatures, as I am sure that we all have Friday afternoon signatures!
Analysis of how consumers feel about Chip and PIN
28% of consumers feel worried or fearful 27% Happy about the coming changes 19% would like more information 14% As long as it makes life easer, they are happy! 13% don’t think much of the new system and its fraud combating capabilities
Most consumers would welcome Chip and PIN. It will obviously take some time for consumers to get use to the technological developments involved
Of course I should declare my sources at this point, working the finance sector, many of our client larger clients are multi-national retailers, they have asked for larger retained profits and assistance in gaining finance for these developments in the coming quarter. This means being a leading figure in a dynamic company, in a fast changing business environment I need to know about new developments. Also as I have said before in the early 90’s my wife sat on the board of Marks and Spencer, today she is still actively involved in the company mainly doing Freelance Management Consultancy (part time of course, she is a full time Barrister) Anyway this project seemed to inspire her so I thought I would tell you about it!
For more information visit, www.chipandpin.co.uk
*N.B. please ignor the points below*
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Saves you time and effort, free to set up, leaves the money in your account to the last possible moment Disadvantages: If you're no careful you can lose track of spending, mistakes have been known to happen
Advantages: Quick and simple to set up; Never get into arrears with bill payments Disadvantages: Might be difficult to budget for if you are not paid monthly
Advantages: Quick and simple to set up; Never get into arrears with bill payments Disadvantages: Might be difficult to budget for if you are not paid monthly
Advantages: Saves you time and effort, free to set up, leaves the money in your account to the last possible moment Disadvantages: If you're no careful you can lose track of spending, mistakes have been known to happen
very helpful by (100%):
