Originally Posted by
Points Scrounger
Surveys have said that a significant number of consumers KNOW sig is a joke, and are determined to use cash if it continues.
I think people will notice. If I had to bet on an outcome, I'd go with a backtracking (CYA) statement like: "We wanted to get the
chip-insertion-thing taken care of first, so Chip + Sig is transitional. New and replacement cards will (soon) be PIN primary." We'll see a couple of years of PIN bypass (hit the enter button again) just as there was elsewhere. I would say by 2018 we'll see Chip + PIN as (nearly) universal here.
I have one of the earliest chip cards (Citibank Visa) that was sent without my asking for a chip; it expires Oct 2016, and I wouldn't die of shock if the replacement is PIN primary.
I bet nothing changes. Their CYA statement will be "our internal reviews have found that the majority of cardholders prefer signature but if this changes we will definitely reevaluate our card products" or similar. IF it becomes big enough of an outrage to warrant a response, of course; remember, 50-60% of cardholders don't actually care either way so banks could almost justify making such a statement.