ATM Marketplace recently published its 2015 triennial research report, which includes results of a poll of U.S. consumers on various issues related to ATMs. The online poll was conducted with a panel of 550+ individuals creating a representative sample of the adult (aged 18–65 years) population. Certain findings from the report stand out, in particular those related to consumers' expectations of various aspects of ATM transaction risk.

One question probed how concerned the respondent was about a skimming or camera device capturing their card information and PIN when they use the ATM. Thirty-eight percent indicated they were very concerned, but the remaining 61 percent indicated they were not that concerned or weren't even aware of what a skimming device is. The pie chart below breaks down each response.

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Does the lack of concern come from a lack of education, or is it because the respondent knows the financial institution will have to bear the financial liability?

One of the final questions in the poll was whether the respondent felt an EMV card would make an ATM transaction more secure. As the chart below shows, more than half of the respondents believed there would be at least some level of improved security.

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Of great concern to me is the 15 percent who indicated they don't know what an EMV card is. Of the two groups who mostly reported this lack of knowledge, one was the youngest (18–24) group, which surprised me. These younger people are supposed to be more tech-savvy than the rest of us. But of even greater surprise was that almost one-third (31 percent) of the most affluent group (those with a household income more than $150,000) responded they don't know what an EMV card is.

Clearly, the financial industry has a lot of educating to do as credit and debit card issuers ramp up their EMV card issuance in advance of the point-of-sale liability shift on October 1, 2015. While the ATM liability shift for domestic MasterCards won't be until October 2016 and Visa cards, a year later, it's never too early to begin or continue educational initiatives.

Photo of David LottBy David Lott, a payments risk expert in the Retail Payments Risk Forum at the Atlanta Fed