[MrX]

Basically as far as the banks and card issuers are concerned Chip and Pin is the standard in Ireland for *all* credit/debit card transactions. The retailer is supposed to have a chip and pin terminal at this stage.

If a card is presented with a chip it's supposed to be processed with the Chip and verified with a PIN.

If the retailer swipes the card and processes it the old fashioned way they're taking on full liability for any fraud and the banks will take no responsibility for it. So, if someone uses a skimmed card etc its not the bank's problem anymore if that card is supposed to be processed by Chip and PIN.

Why the RPA and Irish Rail have taken so long to roll out Chip and PIN is a complete mystery. They're extremely late and leaving themselves wide open to major losses as a result of their failure to comply with the banking standards.

The ticket machines ought to have been compatible with Chip and PIN from day one. They were rolled out AFTER the Chip and PIN standards were published and after the launch of the EMV chip and PIN system, even if it wasn't compulsory at that stage it was only a year or two away and they could have rolled out machines with Chip & PIN modules installed. These also process old style Magnetic cards.

Transport for London had a different issue, they've had card machines for quite a long time and had to upgrade them from the old tech to the new tech. IE and RPA managed to adopt obsolete technology that was about to be phased out!!!

So, basically it's short sighted, lack of forward planning and a gross waste of public money (as usual).

And it's highly inconvenient for customers.

Btw: In some cases the banks won't even allow the processing of certain cards without Chip and PIN. This is partially why some Laser cards are being rejected regularly.

Also, I can't see why there's any fuss over this. I'm sure the ticket machines they're using are used elsewhere in Europe and chip and pin is standard across the whole EU. It's only a matter of adding a new card module.
In fact, I've seen the EXACT SAME machines in Belgium happily accepting Chip and PIN. Clearly they're designed to have a PIN Pad.

Also, weather proof Chip and PIN terminals are common place. They're found on petrol pumps, parking meters, payphones, etc in most other countries.

Ireland's pretty backwards with credit/debit card technology roll outs for those kinds of things.