[mattmanser]

That's not close to being a chicken and egg. The card companies just have to release the cards, then up the fees for using it without chip & pin.

What's the point of buying the POS systems when no-one can use it and there's no guarantee the cards will be rolled out?

It happened very rapidly here in Britain once the cards were out.

[DrTarantism]

It's all politics. Its a big financial commitment for whichever side goes first. The US has a bigger population than Britain. And perhaps the industry politics were different there too. The card companies may have got their way.

[hannibalhorn]

There's liability to consider as well. In the US, the consumer is generally not liable for fraud; I've certainly heard that in other countries with chip and PIN, if somebody steals and uses your card (having somehow obtained your PIN) you don't necessarily get your money back.