CIVIC leaders in Winchester are appealing for shopkeepers to advise customers about "chip and pin" cards before the government's deadline on signature transactions passes this month.

From February 14 all transactions made on credit or debit cards will have to be done with the "chip and pin" method, meaning customers will no longer be able to opt out of entering their pin number and sign for goods.

Now bosses from Winchester City Centre Partnership are urging retailers to warn customers still wanting to sign for goods that they must get out of this habit by Valentine's Day.

City centre manager Graham Love said: "Allowing signatures of chip and pin cards still gives fraudsters a window of opportunity between the time they steal a card and the time the owner reports it missing. Chip and pin will prevent this."