>>Without the associated PIN it is useless
That’s funny - because I regularly make purchases with a chipped card, and I’ve NEVER been asked for the PIN.
That’s because the software has not been rolled out
Depending on who your financial institution is, that may change soon. The standard is chip *and* PIN, but some banks/credit card issuers have just been lazy and not implemented the PIN part yet. For those banks that *did* comply with the full standard, the card is indeed a useless piece of plastic and silicon without the PIN number. All my chip cards are from institutions that require the PIN for any transaction; I have one swipe-only card left that I understand will be getting upgraded this year.