Why is the magnetic stripe still around?

We all know that the changeover to the new EMV cards is taking a long time. Many merchants are dragging their feet over the costs of upgrading despite the liability shift that has already occurred. If you still haven’t upgraded, give Jeff a call and he can go over your options for you. It may not be as pricey or difficult as you think it is. There is though another reason that the transition is taking so long. It may be obvious but yet, you never think about it. It’s the ATM.
Millions of ATMs dot the landscape of this nation. You drove by them on your way to work. You probably walked past at least one while walking from your car into your place of business. They are everywhere. And every single one of them uses the magnetic strip. The cost of upgrading to the new EMV cards has been enormous for the card issuers and they have not even touched one ATM yet.
One could argue that the various financial institutions and card issuers have had plenty of time to prepare for the changeover and are just continuing to drag their feet but for many smaller banks, changing their ATM to read chips represents a huge financial commitment. Think about how many banks are in the area that you live. The larger banks, like Bank of America, Citizens, Citi, and such are there but how many smaller ones that are based locally call your area home? Probably quite a few. It is perhaps well that the magnetic strip was left of the back of the new cards for the time being.