I've noticed that all (or nearly all) the point-of-sale displays that accept credit cards with the chip in the US follow a pattern of flashing different messages during processing. Once the chip card is inserted, it will cycle through various messages like Please Wait, Do Not Remove Card, etc. I find it causes quite a bit of cognitive overhead because each time the screen changes, it may have finished and gone to Remove Card or it may still just be telling me to wait. Although the systems at different stores have different displays and particular messages, they all seem to exhibit this behavior (e.g. comparing Publix, Trader Joe's and CVS).
Why would this design be used over just displaying a constant message while processing? Why do all these systems seem to have this in common? As a side question, is this a US phenomenon or do you see this in the systems in other countries as well?
Answer
The messages instruct the user and gives them feedback that the machine is working.
Sure, a processing message would show what is actually happening, but the user already assumes that. They need to know that they need to wait. They need to know that they shouldn't remove the card. The messages are instructions for the user during the processing. They also represent the requirements of the user for the machine to fully process the card; time and the card in the machine.
By having these messages change, it can direct the user's attention to the message, further reinforcing the requirements for processing the card. This also reinforces that the machine is working. If the display only had one message for the entirety of the processing, the user might begin to think that something isn't working and that it's "stuck". Even if the processing step behind the scenes was "stuck", if the messages displayed to the user continued to change, they may not initially assume that the machine was "stuck" when it takes longer.
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