There may have been confusion at the tills during the sales this New Year, but Alliance and Leicester say that British shoppers are well prepared for the introduction of the new Chip & PIN system of paying for goods by credit or debit cards.

Alliance & Leicester’s Chip & PIN research shows that 25 million British shoppers (58%) have already paid for goods using the Chip & PIN system, which removes the need for consumers to sign when paying for purchases. Thirty six million (83%) consider the system to be a good idea, with reduction of fraud and speeding up of transactions cited as the two key benefits.

Although over half (57%), have concerns that if somebody gets hold of their PIN number it may make fraud easier, three quarters (75%) think one of the advantages of Chip & PIN technology is that it will improve on security and two thirds (61%) consider it much more secure than the old ‘signature’ system. Two fifths (37%) of Britons say they have no trouble at all remembering their PINs, despite the same amount (39%) saying they use different numbers for all their PINs and a fifth claiming they use five PINs or more. A quarter (23%) say they use the same PIN for everything.

However, with 16% of Britons admitting they keep record of their PINs somewhere about the house, and another 14% who say they even carry a record of PINs about their person, British shoppers need to realise that they can change all their PINs to the same number – one that is easily memorable for them.

Simon Ripton, Current Account Manager at Alliance & Leicester commented: “As a bank we have supported Chip & PIN since its inception, and like British consumers recognise the benefits it brings, most notably that it will dramatically reduce card fraud. At a time when consumers are being bombarded by many financial scams and ruses, anything which makes it harder for criminals to abuse Britons’ purchasing power can only be a good thing.”

However, Alliance & Leicester’s research reveals there are also a lot of misconceptions about Chip & PIN and that shoppers continue to be taken in by a number of‘myths’:

Myth – 25% believe they won’t be able to pay for goods if they cannot remember their PIN at point of sale. Reality – if shoppers can’t remember their PIN, many retailers will then accept payment using the customer’s signature.

Myth – 22% believe they will now be responsible for loss of money through fraudulent transactions. Reality – there is no change in liability for the cardholder and under the Banking Code consumers are fully protected from the cost of card fraud.

Our most popular PINs

The report also highlights the nation’s PIN number habits:

At least a third of Britons base their PINs on an anniversary, be it their own date of birth, other family members’ birthdays or a wedding anniversary.

Home or work telephone numbers are also used as popular aides-memoirs.