Wait as long as possible and buy the best technology

Business Insider: You’ve probably received a newfangled chip card that offers better protection against ID theft when used in a store. Too bad most stores aren’t accepting them yet.

Three-quarters of retailers haven’t enabled the card readers that accept chip cards, even though most national and regional chains have installed them at their checkouts, according to a new report by Consumer World.

That’s bad news for Americans who are left at risk of ID theft, but it could also be a costly mistake for retailers. After Oct. 1 of this year, the stores could be financially liable for any losses from card fraud if they swipe chip cards rather than use the chip technology for verification. (Previously, the card issuers bore responsibility for fraudulent charges.)

“It seems crazy that millions of dollars have been spent to issue chipped credit cards and to install special card readers, but shoppers’ security is no better than it was before because the systems haven’t been enabled by most retailers,” Consumer World founder Edgar Dworsky said in a statement. “It’s also frustrating and confusing for shoppers who see the new terminals but don’t know whether to swipe or dip their credit cards.”

Retailers are being smart.  Let the large retailers go first, and suffer version 1.0 of ther POS software.