In the U.S., where waiters and bartenders earn a good chunk of their bread and butter off tips, the handing over of the bill to customers is a sacred ritual in which much income is made or lost. Unlike in Europe, Americans typically add their tip on paper at the table when they approve the final charge. But that ritual will go out the window once U.S. credit card companies adopt the European approach.
Ahead of an industry-wide shift in the U.S. that goes into effect today (Oct. 1), American card companies have spent the past few months dispatching new cards to their American customers that contain an embedded microprocessor chip (a system European banks and retailers have used for some time).
Credit card firms say that replacing the magnetic stripe on the back of the card with the newer chip technology greatly reduces the risk of fraud.
The switch, which prompted a costly revamp of the country’s credit card infrastructure, comes after a slew of major security breaches among U.S. retailers.
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