How the chip card works

• The cardholder inserts a chip card into a chip-reading terminal.
• The card remains inserted in the terminal throughout the transaction.
• The cardholder follows the prompts on the terminal screen.
• The terminal screen will display the purchase amount and prompt the cardholder to enter his/her PIN.
• The cardholder will enter his/her PIN on the keypad.
• Once the PIN is confirmed and the purchase is approved a receipt will be printed.
• The cardholder removes his/her card from the terminal once the transaction is complete.

The result is a fast, convenient and secure payment transaction experience.

Chip cards will continue to have a magnetic stripe along with a chip. The stripe allows customers to continue to shop at merchants who do not yet have a chip reading terminal.

Chip migration is gaining momentum around the world. International experience has shown that chip & PIN cards offer additional card security. Fraud figures released on 14 March 2007 by APACS, the UK payments association, show total card fraud losses fell by 3% in the past year to £428m – a decrease of nearly £80m over the past two years. The introduction of chip and PIN has made it more difficult for fraudsters to commit card fraud in the UK, with losses at UK retailers falling by £146.7m over the past two years"*

* Copyright 2005 APACS Administration Ltd. Reproduced with permission of APACS.