Chip and PIN technology is as common now as cheque books were twenty years ago. Now however there is a whole new breed of criminals out there on the prowl and they are prepared to steal just about anything from anyone. Gone are the days where a criminal only had to forge a signature however, now they are required to work a little harder; but they have risen to the challenge.
We’re going to talk about the ways in which Chip and PIN machines at point of sale can be more efficient at combating fraud in your place of business. If you are considering installing Chip and PIN machines in your business then you will need to know just how secure they really are.
How they work
At the point of sale, instead of the customer handing you cash, or you taking their debit or credit card from them and swiping it in a debit card terminal on your cash till, you don’t handle the card at all. This alone makes the customer feel more secure, even though the risk from you the retailer is minimal; it is important to make the customer feel happy about their chosen method of payment.
Customers put their PIN number (of four digits that only they can know) into the Chip and PIN terminal when they enter their card and then press the enter button to pay for their goods. The only way fraud can take place here is if someone witnesses the PIN number being entered into the debit card terminal. This is highly unlikely, and even if they did get the number, they would then need the card. So Chip and PIN machines are pretty flawless when it comes to protecting against fraud, simply because the Chip is no good without the PIN, and it’s equally as useless the other way around too.
What about debit card payments over the phone and internet?
Well when it comes to debit card payments over the telephone or web payments there can be no Chip and PIN machines of course, instead there is what is commonly referred to as a virtual card terminal.
Your credit or debit card number is given, along with the expiry date and the number on the signature strip at the back; in fact everything a fraudster needs to buy thing over the phone or internet. However, there are other systems in place to protect. These days merchants cannot just take the numbers and leave it at that, they are obligated to take numeric information about the cardholder’s address. This prevents any would be thief or fraudster from using the card because they are very unlikely to know the card owner’s address.
Good reasons to accept debit cards
As a retailer or online merchant these things are good reasons to accept debit cards and install Chip and PIN technology where you can. If you can minimise the amount of fraud risk in a transaction then the less likely you are to suffer a chargeback as a result of a fraudulent transaction. Always make sure you double check everything whether you accept cards, cash or cheques. The Chip and PIN machine is only one way to combat fraud; these crooks will try anything in order to get what they want.