Northampton's chip and PIN 'high street of the future'

The fraud-busting chip and PIN card technology is fast becoming the established method of card payment in the shops of Northampton, home to the UK's first trials of the system.

The town was chosen to trial the technology last year because its demographic is most representative of the average town in the UK.

Chip and PIN is a scheme for credit and debit cards where cardholders are required to enter a PIN into a keypad instead of signing a receipt at the checkout of shops. The aim is to cut down on credit card fraud.

The latest figures from the national chip and PIN programme claim nearly three-quarters of Northampton residents who have been issued with the new cards by their banks use chip and PIN for at least half their purchases, while half use the cards for most of their purchases.

A recent survey suggested almost two-thirds of card-holders nationally have little or no knowledge of chip and PIN and over half are concerned the technology will increase the risk of their PIN being stolen.

But results from the Northampton trial show two-thirds feel the new cards are safer. Remembering PINs is also not proving to be a problem with just three per cent not knowing the PIN on their debit card -- although a third still don't know the PIN for their credit card.

The people at the chip and PIN programme claim Northampton's Abington high street now provides a "snapshot of the high street of the future" ahead of a national rollout of the technology.

Three in five cardholders across the UK have a chip and PIN card and retailers including Asda, Comet, Dixons and Tesco have now partially or fully rolled out the PIN terminals at their checkouts. Some, however, including Sainsbury's, have admitted they won't meet the 2005 deadline.

From 2005 liability for fraudulent card transactions will shift from card companies to retailers, meaning those shops without the capability to accept the more secure chip and PIN purchases are likely to run the risk being hit with bigger fraud bills.

Jemma Smith, spokeswoman for chip and PIN, said in a statement: "Chip and PIN has fast become the natural way to pay in Northampton, with both cardholders and retail staff adapting to the new technology quickly and easily. Above all, they appreciate the increased security chip and PIN provides against fraudsters."