I wonder if it would be secure enough/cheaper to retrofit these pumps with NFC readers.
(It wasn't NFC exactly, but similar technology)
In this case, when all five banks decided to go to pin-enabled credit cards, they just did it. Retailers were given a certain amount of time to switch over, “or else.” There are few alternatives, so the entire country moved forward.
Whereas, south of the 49th parallel, there is all kinds of competition for credit cards and for merchant services, so if a few banks don’t feel like sending out cards with chips an PINs, they don’t. And if a few retailers don’t want to go to the expense of upgrading their systems, they don’t have to.
On the flip side... There is nearly zero Apple Pay up here.
Some one has demoed a proof of concept system that you could hide in a back pack and walk through a crowded train/tube station and harvest small sums from hundreds of people.