Originally Posted by jarusoba

Why do people like Chip & Pin?

There is no advantage to having a chip card except in places where you have to use a chip card, like some places in Europe.

When there is a fraudulent use of the card, as a cardholder, I just have to deny authorization and I won't be liable to the loss. But with the chip, the onus is on the cardholder to prove that he hasn't authorized the charge if the pin was entered. A chip card is hard to duplicate but nothing is impossible. The crooks who have successfully stolen or duplicate your card just have to somehow get your pin, you would become a victim of credit card fraud.

I still prefer the old fashioned way of using a signature to validate the authorization. It is safer for me (the client). The chip & PIN card is safer for the merchants and the bank.

This is a conspiracy of the banks and sometimes the merchant to claim that the chip card is safer because they can deny any liabilities when a transaction goes through with a PIN and make the cardholder liable.

Having said that, I'm glad in Canada, Amex still issues chipless Platinum and Centurion cards.^