EPoS and Chip & PIN: Time to Chip in

Joining the Chip & PIN scheme is not compulsory, but it does make sense in light of forthcoming legislation, says Phil Mellows.

From next January retailers, including publicans, will assume liability for card fraud on their premises. Like any new law, it is unclear exactly how this might work in practice. The only sure protection for licensees who do take credit and debit cards is to be ready to take the new Chip & PIN cards.

Chip & PIN, in which customers hand over the card and then key a number into a special terminal rather than sign their name on the slip, is aimed at cutting the UK's growing card fraud problem, with an annual bill currently running at £400m. Banks pick up this cost now - but from January it could be you.

If fraud is committed with a Chip & PIN card and you don't have Chip & PIN-enabled point-of-sale equipment, the bank will not give you the money for any fraudulent transactions.

At last count 28.4 million cardholders - two-thirds of the total - had been issued with 56.8 million Chip & PIN cards between them while more than 438,000 tills have now been switched to the new system.

It's not compulsory, but if you take cards you should think seriously about joining them. Fraudsters are likely to start targeting retailers without Chip & PIN as it makes their job easier. They will be hungrier fish swimming in a smaller pool.

So what do you have to do? The vast majority of small businesses are getting a free upgrade of their credit and debit card equipment from their bank.

So far 70 per cent have been contacted by their bank and that figure should rise to 90 per cent by the end of the year. So if you don't hear soon, you could get in touch with them.

The key lesson from the trial which ran in Northampton is that if you want to avoid hitches with the new system, you need to plan its introduction. Points to consider​

Here are some of the things that you need to think about if you do decide to install Chip & PIN technology.

• Staff training. Contact your bank or check out the Chip & PIN website for useful information that can help you to ensure your staff know what to do
• Positioning your PIN pads for maximum customer confidentiality
• Practical issues such as the length of wire needed for PIN pads with cords or whether a mobile solution would be appropriate for your business
• Ensuring that CCTV cameras will not directly overlook the PIN pad as customers enter their number
• Making sure that all disabled people will be able to access PIN pads
• Finally, get ready to answer your customers' questions. There is a leaflet that can be downloaded from the Chip & PIN website especially for you to give to them.

For more information contact your bank or go to www.chipandpin.co.uk​

The benefits of switching​

Apart from cutting down on plastic card fraud, Chip & PIN offers lots of other benefits for licensees and other retailers.

Administration costs can be cut and, over time, as staff and customers get used to the new system, it should become quicker than signing, so speed of service at the bar can be improved.

Staff who have used Chip & PIN say customers find it is easier to enter a four-digit PIN than sign.

Research also shows that most people are looking forward to using their Chip & PIN cards as they feel the new system it is more secure than the current one.

The sophistication of chip pad cards also means they can support add-on services such as loyalty schemes.

Pictured: One of I-Control's handheld Chip & PIN machines.​

Sharp set to stage a comeback​

Electronics giant Sharp is angling to break back into pub EPoS after a 10-year gap. In the early 1990s, thousands of Sharp machines were installed in the Allied Domecq estate, but the company drew back from the market to focus on personal computers.

From this month, Sharp will be targeting independent publicans with a new system called Venta that will potentially link tills to a back-office PC that can handle stock control, ordering, sales reports and other functions.

"We've spent the last two years developing our PC-based applications for the EPoS market and we aim to move into the pub industry in a big way," comments Paul Randall. "Our customers will have different needs and we will work with them to find the right solution."

The willingness and ability of suppliers such as Sharp to tailor systems to the needs of the individual is key to extending the take-up of EPoS in the trade. For instance, one thing that sometimes deters licensees from installing EPoS is the cost and disruption of cabling the system together. But there are now wireless alternatives.

Alongside tills, Sharp is introducing specially designed robust hand-held terminals enabling waiting staff to exploit the growth of table service in pubs. Paul says: "Our research shows that people employed on a part-time basis - many of whom work in the pub trade - don't care about equipment, so these are designed to be durable."

The hand-held sets replicate the screen on the tills to make them easier to use and orders can be printed off at the bar, in the kitchen or both, to speed up service.

Paul is confident that applications will grow based on upgrading the Venta product and Sharp is working on a web-based, broadband-linked, centrally-controlled system for use in larger managed estates which should be ready in about 12 months.

Pictured: Sharp's hand-held units allow pubs to offer table service more easily.​