EMV Credit Cards Still a Mystery for Most Consumers

The majority of Americans (56%) are unaware of what a chip or EMV credit card is, despite the upcoming transition on October 1st, according to a new survey from point-of-sale provider Harbortouch.

The survey consisted of 18,000 adults throughout the United States.

More than half of respondents (53.6%) said they were still waiting on chipped replacement cards from one or more of their credit card issuers. Millennials were the least likely to use EMV cards, according to the study, but they were more likely to adopt mobile payments than any other age group.

Respondents with lower incomes were less likely to be familiar about EMV technology than those in higher income brackets (40% compared to 74%).

Only 50.8% of participants believed that smartchips will provide added security. Men were more likely to feel that way than women (58.8% vs. 41.4%).

Other recent studies have shown that businesses are just as unprepared to transition to chip and PIN cards as consumers. Only 22% of small businesses are ready for the October 1st deadline, and only 25% of debit cards will be chipped by the end of the year.

With just two weeks remaining until the deadline, this research indicates it may be a somewhat rocky EMV transition for American merchants and consumers.