According to a private survey for Visa on 15 December 2004, a fifth of the estimated 25 million people with chip and pin cards are still signing their names instead of entering the pin number when they make purchases. Several reasons have been mooted for this reluctance - some customers cannot remember their PIN number, others blamed lack of enthusiasm from shop staff, and some said that they didn’t understand the system or it ‘made them nervous’. From January 1st, retailers can refuse to accept signatures if the customer has a chip and pin card.

Three-fifths of UK cardholders now have a chip and pin card. The scheme was introduced in 2004 to combat credit card fraud - a similar programme in France resulted in an 80% drop in card fraud.

This unwillingness on the part of some customers to adapt to the new system is demonstrative of a difficulty inherent in the introduction of any new technology - there will always be some elements of the public that refuse to accept it, whether it be chip and pin, internet access or digital TV.