Black Friday Takeaway: Chip Card Use Is on the Rise

Consumers made more than half of Black Friday purchases with a chip card, per a report from Cayan LLC, a Boston-based payments provider.

Cayan’s analysis included more than 935,000 transactions made in-store and processed via its gateway, reports Digital Transactions.

Overall, at the cash register, chip cards made up 55% of purchases and magnetic-stripe card purchases made up 34% of transactions. Only 0.6% of purchases were made with mobile payments.

Card use varied by retailer size, however:

• Large retailers (100 or more locations): chip cards used 75% of the time, mag-stripe cards used 24% of the time
• Small retailers: chip cards used 52% of the time, mag-stripe cards used 36% of the time

Why Do Large Retailers Have Widespread Chip Card Acceptance?

Small retailers, however, often use point-of-sale (POS) software that’s not yet integrated with a chip card reader. These businesses may be holding off on installation until the holiday-shopping season ends.

What about Mid-Sized Merchants?

While the report from Cayan LLC didn’t address mid-sized merchants, these companies face their own obstacles when it comes to accepting chip cards. They don’t have the tools of the big companies or the simplicity of the small companies, leading to lag times in EMV-compliance.

For example, when large retailers seek outside help (from an IT resource), they have more pull to jump ahead in line. Mid-size merchants usually don’t have that ability.

Can Your Business Accept Chip Cards? If not, We Can Help:

Contact i3 Commerce Technology online or call 1-800-621-8931.