Retail Solutions - Chip & PIN hits 100,000 outlets, but middle-market still lagging

Chip and PIN has reached 100,000 businesses, according to the Project Management Organisation (PMO), which is overseeing the migration.

The figures come from the first 'barometer' issued by the PMO since the Chip and PIN trial was concluded and companies started to roll out their pilots in October.

One of the retailers cited by the PMO as a trailblazer in the migration was Safeway, which the PMO said was now accepting an average 100,000 successful transactions a week in 480 stores across the UK.

PMO spokeswoman Sandra Quinn said: 'We are pleased with the first weeks of the Chip and PIN roll out. Cardholders and retailers across the UK are starting to benefit from this fraud-busting technology.'

However, analysts say that many of the retailers counted by the PMO are using bank-owned terminals to carry out Chip and PIN transactions.

Kilrush consultancy director Connie Penn said: 'Some 26 to 28 per cent of retailers have bank-owned terminals and I can see the bulk of the number coming from these, because I can't find a middle retailer who's doing it.'

PA Consulting analyst Alastair Charatan also predicted that mid-tier retailers would be poorly represented in the PMO's findings. 'Medium-sized retailers don't seem to have a big issue with fraud. Some haven't even got round to planning an upgrade to their EPoS,' he said.

The PMO was unable to provide a breakdown of the number of organisations with a Chip and PIN project under way, but restaurants and cafes are included in the 100,000 total.