Debit card issuers used to promote signature transactions over PIN. But now, in a post-Durbin world, the interchange revenues from both are similar, so “issuers are now trying to guide shoppers to use personal identification numbers” because of the lower costs, explains American Banker’s Victoria Finkle.
"We have been aggressive with contacting customers with phone and direct mail to promote PIN,'" said one unnamed issuer in a recent study by Discover's PULSE pin-debit network and Oliver Wyman
However, the about face, might be a tough sell. "From a consumer point of view, you've got to look at the reasons why people don't use a PIN," says Ed Lawrence of Auriemma Consulting Group. They've forgotten their PIN? The merchant doesn’t have a keypad? The lower risk for fraud doesn't matter much to consumers because they are not liable for it, Lawrence points out.
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