In reply to Ernst van der Ploeg.

Any form of magnetic stripe "swipe" leaves the card details open to interception by fraudsters; the EMV chip card improves security greatly in that respect, and a PIN completes the security cycle as well as any other method; and, I think you will find that it is the bank that "makes the deal" at the checkout, not the merchant; and, there is no good reason, from the consumers' point of view, for the merchant to get anything out of the transaction other than the funds in their bank account the following day ...