Study: Consumers frustrated by chip-card progress
Consumers’ lack of enthusiasm around the value of chip card usage could impact the upcoming holiday season.
This month marks the year anniversary of the introduction of mandated Europay, MasterCard, Visa (EMV) chip card payments at retail stores across the United States. However, high levels of consumer frustration and confusion remain widespread, according to new research published by Cayan, a payment technology provider.
The biggest gripe among 83% of shoppers is that they are confused whether retailers accept chip cards or not. Currently, 42% of consumers use chip cards three or more times per week while shopping, but point-of-sale (POS) machines that accept chip cards are not ubiquitous. Further, over the last six months, 91% of shoppers have encountered machines that don’t accept chip cards, the study said.
Among shoppers that do use chip cards, they are finding card transactions exceeding five seconds — an issue that can jeopardize a shopper’s loyalty to a retail brand, the study said. With the holiday shopping season approaching, these high levels of shopper frustration could translate into a bumpy Black Friday and beyond.
“The clear shopper frustration with chip card technology is going to create significant hurdles for retailers this holiday season, as many retailers have already begun locking down their systems as we move toward the holidays,” said Henry Helgeson, CEO and co-founder of Cayan. “Though retailers could curb long lines and frustrated customers by adding employees, aisles and space, those are large investments many want to avoid. The real answer is working to subtract time from the transaction time — something processors around the country are working hard to do right now.”