Wondering if this holiday season phenomenon will boost growth of online sales.  I noticed this happening at my local grocery store recently.

How are new credit cards to blame?

From Hartford Courant:

The card with the tiny metallic square became more common after Oct. 1, which was when liability for covering fraudulent transactions shifted to the party that hadn’t adopted chip technology — either the merchant or the credit-card issuer.

For merchants, that meant ensuring their sales terminals had a slot to read the new cards, as well as the software to accept these payments. The American Bankers Association estimates that 70 percent of credit cards will be chip-enabled by the end of the year.

“I think what’s happening is just people are getting used to this change,” said Matt Schulz, senior analyst at CreditCards.com. “You have customers that are confused, you have people behind the counter that are confused, and you have a process that takes a little bit longer.

“You add all that up, and it leaves you with a little bit longer lines at retailers.”

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.