> The package wouldn’t be complete without the entire process being much slower than the old card swipe. What took a second or two before now seems to take millennia.<p>Now that I recalled, most of my chipped POS transactions have been indeed a few seconds slower than swipes. I wonder if that's caused by the data encryption/decryption? Embedded hardwares are very capable theses days, I am surprised to see that's the case though. Can someone with expertise on this issue explain?
I noticed the punishing error sound that these devices emit when the transaction is successful and it's time to remove the card. I thought I was alone in noticing and being annoyed by it. Why not make <i>two</i> sounds - one for successful transaction -> remove card and the other for unsuccessful transaction -> remove card ???<p>Another seemingly unsolvable problem for about 15 years with these machines is choosing whether to use credit or debit. In order to use credit, you have to press "Cancel" when it asks for the pin. Obtaining the answer to this very simple question has and continues to be beyond the technical ability of these imbeciles for nearly a generation.
I have actually started carrying cash again because of these things. That 2 minutes of standing around at a check out line when you just want a damn pack of gum is infuriating. Not to mention when the chip stops working and you get to stand there trying it over and over again while everyone else in line is groaning and the machine is beeping at you loudly. What an awful technology.