• Chip and PIN

• Chip and PIN: the benefits
• Getting started with chip
• Handling chip cards
• Troubleshooting tips
• Advice for UK retailers
• UK retailers' experience

• Contactless payments

• Self-service card acceptance terminals

• V PAY

Getting started with chip

To improve the customer experience, you and your staff need to be able to process chip-card payments quickly and efficiently.

If you are introducing chip and PIN to your retail business, there are several things to consider:

PIN pads

Make sure your customer can enter their PIN easily.

• Can they reach the PIN pad? And can it be easily rotated towards them?
• Are the wires long enough for you to pass the PIN pad to customers, including those in wheelchairs?
• In a restaurant it is more beneficial to have portable PIN pads, which staff can take to tables

Privacy

Make sure your customer can enter their PIN in privacy.

• Are privacy shields fitted on the PIN pads?
• Do staff, other customers or CCTV cameras overlook customers when they enter their PIN?
• Customers must enter their own PIN; staff must never ask a customer to reveal their PIN

Training

Make sure sales staff are adequately trained to accept chip cards. Sales staff are ideally positioned to reassure your customers, who may also be new to chip cards and unsure how to proceed.

When training staff, make sure you cover the following topics:

• Terminal types
  Train staff how your particular chip and PIN terminals work. With some models the customer will hand the card to the cashier; with others, customers insert the card themselves.
• On-screen instructions
  Emphasise the need for staff to follow the prompts on the screen.
• Customer communications
  Talk to your staff about what they say to customers. Feedback from merchants using chip and PIN indicates that asking, “Please enter your PIN” is more effective than “Do you know your PIN?”
• PIN entry
  Customers must enter their own PIN. Staff must never ask the customer to reveal their PIN. Staff should also look away from the PIN pad when the customer is entering their PIN; many merchants use this time to start packing the customer’s purchases.
• Forgotten PIN
  If a customer cannot remember their PIN, it may be worth reminding them that it may be the same PIN they use to withdraw money from cash machines. Staff can also remind customers that they can contact their card-issuing bank for help.
• Refunds
  Train your staff on the refunds process. If you offer one, you may need to ask the customer to re-enter their PIN to make a refund.

Handling chip cards

Troubleshooting tips

More information

Contact your acquiring bank for further details about accepting chip cards.