Chip and pin technology has significantly reduced debit and credit card fraud, the UK payments association has said.
Debit and credit card fraud fell by almost a third this year, the Association of Payment Clearing Services (Apacs) said.
In the first six months of this year, debit and credit card fraud came to a total of £89.9 million – 29 per cent lower than the £127 million recorded between January and June 2004.
Apacs believes that chip and pin played a significant role in this lower reported figure of debit and credit card fraud, even though these figures do not encompass phone or internet debit and credit card fraud.
More than nine out of ten people have a chip and pin debit or credit card, Apacs said, and added that a hundred successful chip and pin transactions take place every second.
From February 14th 2006, debit and credit card holders will have to key in their pin in if they want to pay with their debit or credit card. Chip and pin technology will then replace the traditional method of signing for debit and credit card transactions.




