 Chip and pin was rolled out last October |
More than eight million chip and pin credit and debit cards, designed to curb fraud, are in use in the UK. The technology was rolled out nationwide last October following a successful trial in Northampton.
Banks have issued the new style cards to one in six customers and claim fraud could fall 70% by 2005.
The technology works by getting customers to verify a transaction by keying in a four digit Pin number, rather than signing a receipt.
The new technology is aimed at combating the growing problem of "skimming" - the most common method of counterfeit fraud.
The magnetic strip on the back of cards is copied by fraudsters using a handheld card reader.
The card can then be "cloned".
The new cards have a thumbnail-size microchip, which stores personal data more securely than the magnetic stripe, making it harder to counterfeit.
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