Originally Posted by Daveoc64

IMO the US has everything totally backwards - like in that example you give. The card has features like holograms and security codes on it that the store should be checking to see if they're genuine. By allowing the cardholder to swipe the card themselves they are totally bypassing all of those security features. It would be like letting customers put cash in the till themselves - without checking to see if it's counterfeit or if it's simply a piece of green paper with $10 written on it in crayon.