That's strange... I wonder if some card issuer has a quality problem? I haven't had any issues with mine at all, but I've had a lot of issues with the barcodes slowly wearing away.

This probably has more to do with user abuse than card quality. After all, it’s just a piece of plastic.

In the Netherlands all ATMs are chip only for all debit cards (which everyone uses) and this isn’t an issue at all, if you take reasonable care of your belongings.

I have a TD bank card, which has both a stripe and chip. These cards are dirt cheap construction and material, and printed on demand by a similarly cheap machine. The stripe and chip contacts are visibly worn down and I've sat on this card quite literally 12 hours a day for 4 years. It still works nearly flawlessly. Something is very strange and broken about your card/wallet/habits I think

My last debit card's chip lasted at least the three years it took for the card to expire.

same - I've never had this issue or heard of any instance of it

I've been running into that a lot... I'm replacing my card once a year because the chip stops working. It's one of the most embarrassing things when your card is declined repeatedly and there are people in line behind you. Or worse you're on a date and your date thinks you're overdrafted.

Is your wallet made out of any odd materials?

I've had this happen with two wallets, one with a rubberized card holder and one with some kind of polyester stretchy fabric.

Personally I blame my bank for poor quality cards, but it's still another situation where NFC payment technologies win out.

At least around here most terminals will allow you to swipe after 3 chip failures, but it's still a pain.

?

I've never heard of this problem ... does the US have different chips to us here in UK?

Same. I've even had a few chips fall right of of the cards.