More than 200 retailers rush to beat Eftpos switch-off

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More than 200 retailers whose Eftpos terminals were earmarked for disconnection from the Paymark network, have been spared the embarrassment of being shut off from the network.

Electronic payments provider Paymark said last Tuesday that more than 4000 terminals were still to be upgraded and 650 terminals were to be disconnected from the network the following day.

More than 500 terminals have been disconnected from the network in the last couple of weeks, although a high per centage of those were not on the high street, and it was possible those people no longer needed a terminal, Paymark said.

"The fact we have only had a handful of surprised or concerned people who have phoned our helpdesk saying 'I've been left without Eftpos', gives a pretty good picture that most of those people who were disconnected didn't need a terminal anymore," Paymark head of Sales and marketing, Paul Whiston said.

About half of the non-compliant terminals were in Auckland, from sectors including fashion, farming suppliers, doctors, pet and furniture shops and bookshops.

The new terminals will be able to read chip enabled cards, which are expected to mitigate the risk of fraud because they cannot be copied as easily as magnetic strip cards.

Whiston, said the company was pleased that retailers were being proactive in ensuring that their businesses were not left without Eftpos.

"We're extremely pleased that many of those 'at-risk' of being disconnected are taking charge and getting compliant equipment," said Whiston.