Help the Aged fears chip and pin 'distress'

Friday, November 4, 2005

Help the Aged has voiced concerns over the transfer to chip and pin set for Valentine's Day 2006.

The charity has said there will be "a lot of disquiet" about the transition amongst elderly people unless more is done on the part of banks to help and educate them about the change.

A spokesman for the charity, Paul Bates, has said that the banks need to do more to raise awareness of the change to chip and pin among the older generation, and that this is Help the Aged's "principle concern" regarding financial matters for people they help.

The switch is in the calendar for February 15th, with the overwhelming majority of cardholders now using chip and pin.

The charity is concerned that without more education over the matter for the elderly, the blanket switch to chip and pin could lead to "distressing and embarrassing" moments when they try to pay for groceries.

Help the Aged says that the "vast majority" of elderly people use cash as payments and Mr Bates also mentioned the fact that the closure of banks is something that is troubling the charity as older people prefer using the branch system for banking.

The nationwide switch to chip and pin is aimed at reducing fraud, with the Association of Payment Clearance Services saying in October that since the introduction of chip and pin, fraud has dropped 30 per cent.