PIN option on credit and debit cards introduced today

Personal identification number (PIN) verification on most credit and debit cards will be introduced across Australia today.

The PIN option will be available when the cardholder selects to press the “Cr” or “credit” button on the point-of-sale machine after swiping or dipping their card.

Pen or PIN, a financial services industry initiative, has the potential to make payment for goods and services in person faster and easier when using a credit or debit card.

“There are more than 44 million debit and credit cards in Australia, which are used over 118 million times per month to pay for goods and services.

“From today there is a convenient alternative to signing to authorise those transactions, by entering a PIN at the point of sale after they have pressed the ‘credit’ button,” says Simon Greig, Pen or PIN project manager.

He said PIN authorisation was now available Australia-wide to credit and debit card holders who possessed a PIN-enabled card.

The change was not mandatory and cardholders who did not have a PIN-enabled card, or who preferred to sign, would still be able to authorise transactions using a signature.

All Australian financial institutions and card schemes – Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club and American Express – have supported the scheme.

Inside Retailing

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