Pick n Pay and partner commiting *****

so off i go to pnp, decide on the goods i want and proceed to the till , at the till i present my debit/cheque card for payment , th ecashier put the card chip first into the debit machine , message states that the card is to be swiped,, the cashier does so, and wallah, authorisation is given and the trasaction goes through!<br> <br> <br> what is strange about above?<br> i was not asked nor did i put my secret pin in , how the HELL do you guys do that ?<br> <br> my pin is the one thing that protects me to a point from *****, identifies me to a point as the owner of the card.<br> how does a transaction at a retailer go through without my authorisation? <br> <br> when i queried this i was told they are offline , when i questioned why no signage, answer was :we did not know.<br> with at least 50% paying by card you cannot say you did not know , if it was an hour or two between transaction i can understand and maybe one till, but 8 really?<br> <br> get your act together, i expect an answer .