Lack of advice on Chip & PIN could cost sales

Retailers could lose millions in January if Chip and PIN technology isn't introduced more tactfully, a report warns this week.

Detica, an IT consultancy to the Home Office, Vodafone and the DTI, commissioned a study into attitudes towards Chip and PIN among consumers.

According to the research, 60 per cent of cardholders have little or no knowledge of Chip and PIN, and only half of all cardholders say they've been contacted by their banks. Advice on Chip and PIN from retailers is non-existent, said the study.

Detica head of security and risk David Porter believes that the lack of consumer education from banks and retailers will prove expensive when the technology is launched in January next year.

He said: 'It's going to be like the introduction of decimalisation all over again, only without the preparation. The chaos at the tills could drive customers out of shops, which isn't what you want in the January Sales.'

Porter added that banks and retailers need a two-phased strategy. First, they should educate customers on procedures that will make Chip and PIN work. Second, they need to plan for when things go wrong. 'What are they going to do if a chip fails or a customer refuses to give their PIN number in a crowded shop?' said Porter.