There’s a crisis facing the nation that’s beyond your control — and no, this is not referring to the presidential election.
This is a crisis you face every day at your local retailers and grocery stores: Chip cards.
As if swiping a credit card wasn’t difficult enough, U.S. consumers have had to conform to the elusive new process of inserting credit and debit cards into chip readers at checkout counters. These cards have a small silver icon and are part of an industry standard called EMV, which stands for Europay, MasterCard (ticker: MA) and Visa (V).
Unlike other countries that required retailers to upgrade to EMV by a specific date, the U.S. went ahead with a “liability shift” process, meaning retailers that didn’t upgrade by a certain date (Oct. 1 of last year) could be liable for fraud, reports Quartz.
In addition, payment processors must verify the systems meet compliance before they can be put to use, a process that can take weeks.
If and when these machines are up and running, though, it’s not all smooth sailing. If your personal experiences haven’t frustrated you enough, let Twitter be your source of empathy:
*inserts chip card*
*leaves 27 years later
— Jamie K. White (@jamiekCNN)
Me: *inserts chip card into reader*
Bitchy Cashier: “Um you need to swipe it..”
Me: *getting handcuffed for felonious assault*
— Karen (@lindstrka)
Fav this if the store u work at has the chip card reader & is using it
RT if u r swipe-only trash
— Sabrina Mota (@sabrinadraco)
I never feel older than I do when the chip card reader finally starts screaming at me to pull out my credit card.
— William Morgan (@pres1billy)
Dear person who made the chip card reader sound effect, We all hate you. Fix your mess.
— Hallie Odell (@HallieOdellie)
Just experienced the chip card/magnetic card thing for the first time.. We’re screwed
— Justin Johnson (@_JustinJohnson_)
Except, apparently, for this voice of “reason”:
Oh no. 13 extra seconds using a chip card reader. How will we live? It’s like the car that passes you to race to the next red light.
— tenpinsplit (@tenpinsplit)
Meanwhile, Visa and MasterCard’s stock prices have remained relatively flat in 2016. Visa is up about 2.5 percent on the year, while MasterCard is down about 1.7 percent.
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Why Chip Card Readers Are Making People Angry originally appeared on usnews.com
