Chip Credit Cards Give Retailers Another Grievance Against Banks

The employee perched on a stepstool by the checkout at Trader Joe’s in Union Square in Manhattan is like an air traffic controller: Register 6 for one customer. Register 9 for the next. The routine helps move traffic quickly through the store, where the lines can often snake around the aisles of whole grain cereal, mixed nuts and Fair Trade coffee. Trader Joe’s, like many retailers around the country, recently upgraded its payment terminals around the Oct. 1 deadline to accept debit and credit cards with a new security chip.