News

Surprise: Cardholders prefer mag stripe to EMV

No wonder: One-third of cardholders who said they had tried an EMV card couldn't complete their transaction without help from the merchant.

October 27, 2015

Ingenico Group, a provider of seamless payment solutions, has released results from a survey examining EMV chip card use by more than 1,000 U.S. consumers.

According to a company press release, survey results identify five key factors that determine the success of the EMV migration in the U.S.: merchant preparedness; consumer preparedness; cardholder perceptions; habituation; and education.

Survey findings identify opportunities for the entire payments ecosystem to work together and with merchants to ensure they have the education, tools, and technology they need to ensure the U.S. successfully completes its migration. 

Highlights of the findings:

• 60 percent of U.S. cardholders have received EMV cards from their banks and card issuers;
• 48 percent have used their EMV cards by dipping to pay for goods and services, but 44 percent still have not;
• 54 percent of U.S. cardholders who have both EMV and magstripe cards prefer the latter;
• 33 percent of cardholders who have tried using an EMV chip card were not aware of the correct way to use it, and had to ask for help; and
• only 27 percent of cardholders who received educational material along with their EMV cards found it helpful.

"Based on our experience supporting other countries through their EMV migration, we believe the U.S. is progressing comparably at this stage," said Rod Hometh, Ingenico Group SVP of strategic development for North America. "Even with all the education that exists in the market, there is still work to be done over the next 12 months."