I'm in Seattle.
You go to one store and try to swipe..."No, you have to use the chip".
Next place you try to use the chip..."No, that doesn't work yet. You need to swipe it".
Seems like no one is on the same page
Seems like no one is on the same page
I understand the US is doing a slightly slower rollout so you guys might have to put up with either/or for almost a year, but once it is done you'll get used to using the chip pretty quickly.
The two "big" dates for EMV in the US is Oct 2015 (liability shift: merchants) and October 2017 (liability shift: fuel dispensers and ATMs)[0]. After Oct 2017 there will be no reason for banks to issue cards with a magnetic strip at all (although they CAN for travel).
In Europe some banks no longer issue cards with magnetic strips (chip only).
[0] https://www.aciworldwide.com/-/media/files/other/published%2...
[1]: http://investor.visa.com/news/news-details/2016/Visa-Speeds-...
Now that the chip cards and functioning readers are the norm, you see a lot of terminals with a piece of paper taped onto them that says "NO TAP".
I've tapped my card at some merchants who were unaware that their terminal had been tap-enabled. "We don't have tap yet" "It's approved" "Oh!"