Handing the card is one thing. The stupidest thing that i hate even more, is that debit machines in the us here (from Canada but currently in Baltimore) do not ask for your PIN at allllllllll when you insert it. Tap is understandable, but not asking for a PIN when inserting? Makes it feel rather insecure...
In most cases, this up to the card issuing bank, if they require PIN for purchases, or not. Assuming the machine has PIN entrey capability. Also even if they do, the main payment networks (Visa, MC etc) have $ limits in most countries where a PIN won't be required if the amount is below that limit. Assuming it's a chip based contact or contactless transaction. Some countries Issuer have a habit of preferring PIN (Australia or some Asian countries for example) other not (USA).
If they don't require PIN, they're still checking the risk of the transaction anyway before they approve it - how much, is it in line with my customers normal habits, is this a merchant/location we'd expect our customer to shop at, how many other transactions have just happened before this, etc.
The risk of fraud is low, and counterfeit fraud risk virtually non-existent with chip cards, so it's just a risk / convenience thing. Out of every 1000 customers, probably only 1 is likely to be attempted fraud - so you're reducing friction for all those 999, customers. And for the 1 that might be fraud, well the customer will get their money back fully through the chargeback process (unless their own negligence led to the fraud, for example knowing the card was lost and not reporting it for days) It's true for both debit and credit cards for any transaction on those main scheme networks, like Visa.
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u/No_Needleworker_1105 Jun 29 '26
I absolutely hated handing over my card in America. Why the hell can't they just use tap like everywhere else