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23 January 2006
Struggling High Street stores could lose out on even more customers in 2006 unless retailers rethink their Chip & Pin payment strategies, according to Xansa.
Research carried out by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the outsourcing and technology company found that one in four (23%) female card holders feels less secure using this new payment method, although more than half (57%) of all cardholders do not share their view. This compares with only 11% of male card holders who feel less secure with the new method.
Despite a fall in the amount of "cardholder present" fraud, the safety improvements are not clear to some of the shopping community (17%) who now feel more vulnerable when making a purchase, because of entering a PIN number rather than signing.
Just over a third, or 36% of people questioned agreed that, under this new regime, they are more likely to be held responsible for fraudulent spending on their card if it is lost or stolen. A further 12% did not know if they had increased liability for fraudulent spending.
From February 14 (Pin Day), cards will only be accepted when accompanied by a PIN number. Xansa is recommending credit card providers appeal directly to female cardholders, to allay their fears, as well as to encourage them to use the mechanism for in-store payments.
"Every transaction counts." said James Doyle, Director of Financial Services, Xansa. "Any obstacles in the way of shoppers making purchases must be removed by both retailers and card providers. The finance houses invest heavily to promote the new payment method, but 23 percent of female cardholders are not buying the message that Chip & Pin is better."
"I'm sure that continued customer communication will see this difference erode as shoppers realise the very real impact the introduction of this technology has had on card present fraud."
"Until that happens the danger is that more shoppers turn from the High Street to the Internet and that is exactly where fraudsters are looking next."
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