“Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and their banking partners have set a government-enforced deadline of Oct. 15 for a “liability shift” that, for the first time, would make merchants liable for fraudulent charges that result from using point-of-service readers that can’t read chip-and-pin EMV cards. The issuers have been implementing the technology, but it’s still up to companies including Home Depot, Target, Neiman Marcus and others to implement it or be held responsible for fraud resulting from continued use of magnetic strips.”
This quote comes from, Chip-and-PIN Procrastination Is Endangering Your Credit Card, an excellent article that goes into great detail to explain this technology, why you need it, and why the security benefits outweigh the inconvenience factor.