Some retailers still swipe instead of using debit card chips, so are you at risk?

It’s been 11 months since retailers were urged to implement credit card chip readers many of those retailers don’t have them activated. But many customers also don’t have their new cards with the chips.

The slow transition is expensive. Retailers who want to install the chip readers will spend at least $500 on the equipment then must also pay for certification.

The transition has become a pain for customers.

“The swipe I’ve heard is a lot faster, and since I’ve got one I’ve noticed it takes a lot longer,” said Connor Maginnis, of Colorado Springs.

That longer time is because there are more steps in the transaction process before a charge is authorized. The chips are also designed to prevent counterfeiting.

But KRDO NewsChannel 13’s Greg Miller went into three stores in Downtown Colorado Springs: a Chipotle, Starbucks and Jimmy Johns, and found that none of them utilized chip readers.

An online security expert told ABC News this year that as long as the strips on the cards exist, there is the higher risk of identity theft.

“Skimming is still alive and well and it will continue as long as that magnet stripe is still on the cards,” said Robert Sciliano, an online safety analyst with Intel Security.

Customers and some business owners agree the transition has been confusing, with one customer resorting to cash through most of it.

“I’m more of a cash guy… and a basic credit card,” Maginnis said.

The transition last year simply shifted liability of fraud from banks to merchants, most customers did not see a change in their identity theft protection guarantees.