IN light of the growing number of consumers and retailers who have migrated to Chip and PIN technology, MasterCard has launched an awareness campaign to ensure that all stakeholders are comfortable and up to speed with the new transaction process.

According to MasterCard Worldwide, South African banks have issued in excess of one million MasterCard Chip and PIN cards and, as a result, retailers are seeing a rapidly growing number of Chip and PIN cardholders at pay points. “With the phasing-in of chip all over the world, MasterCard has developed extensive expertise in helping retailers get their acceptance programmes up and running,” says Dougie Henderson, vice president of product sales in South Africa. “Through the support of our customer banks in South Africa, we have been working with our market’s retailers to make this transition as seamless as possible,” he continues. Chip and PIN cards have opened up a world of convenience for banks, retailers and cardholders by providing a safer and more secure method of paying for goods or services. They are more difficult to counterfeit than magnetic stripe cards, making them a powerful fraud deterrent. Once the new payments system is working at full capacity, Chip and PIN cards will start to be seen as more than just a fraud deterrent. “The card’s chip can store a lot more information than a magnetic stripe can,” says Walter Volker, managing director of the Payments Association of South Africa. “This enables the Chip and PIN card to have many applications and can be used for banking/payments, loyalty programmes and promotions, access control, ticket buying, parking and toll payment, and transport payment.” “With tourism in South Africa expected to ramp up significantly over the next few years, retailers that have already upgraded their systems are actively training their employees to identify and manage Chip and PIN transactions efficiently,” says Ronnie Herzfeld, chairman of the South African Retailers Payment Issues Forum (SARPIF). “Knowledgeable sales assistants and staff are the best advocates for chip acceptance. They hold the key to smooth, successful transactions – and happy consumers,” adds Henderson.

Advantages of migrating to Chip and PIN

· Chip cards are more difficult to counterfeit, leading to a reduction in fraud.
· Merchants who have chip terminals are not liable for the cost of card fraud as long as cashiers follow the directions indicated in terminal prompts and use the routine security practices of their establishment.
· Replacing cash with chip cards reduces the risks that result from handling and storing currency.
· Chip cards reduce the potential for errors and losses because they eliminate the need for paper reconciliation.
· Transaction records for chip card payments are completely electronic.
· Chip transactions don’t rely on sales assistants to make difficult judgments about signature validation. All they have to do is follow the terminal prompts.
· Cuts down on exception handling, referrals, and charge-back processing.
· Chip cards often do not require online authorisations, so transactions can be processed much more quickly.
· When combined with the use of a PIN, there is no sales slip to be signed or filed, reducing paper work.
· Chip gives you the opportunity to offer your customers self-service terminals to pay for products with no waiting.