12 February 2006 13:44:53 GMT
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Thousands of businesses will be liable for credit card fraud on Tuesday night because they have not switched their tills to chip and pin, the group behind the programme has said.
Around one in 10 of the country's tills have not yet been switched, according to Apacs, which represents banks and credit card companies.
Thousands of cardholders are also waiting for their old-style credit and debit cards to be replaced by their banks.
Chip and pin cards replace the traditional magnetic strip with a smart chip that can store more information, which Apacs hope will cut fraud.
When paying for items, people must now key in a pin number rather than sign a receipt.
Apacs confirmed that 770,000 out of 860,000 tills have so far been upgraded, but some smaller shops have refused to make the switch.
Ben Thomas, Apacs spokesman, said: "Some people won't choose to enrol in the system. These will tend to be retailers who do much smaller transactions and where fraud is less likely to occur."
But he warned: "Many who don't come across will find that fraudsters will find them out as a loophole."
The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), which represents 32,000 shopkeepers, said that smaller retailers are less likely to switch because of the up-front costs involved.
ACS spokesman Shane Brennan said: "Chip and pin has had massive success on cutting down on card fraud but there is growing concern amongst our members that the card fraud crime is being displaced to other kinds of crime, like theft against retailers."
