A trial that could prove to be a test case for the security of Chip and PIN card technology started on the 30th April 2009.

Alain Job is suing Halifax, claiming that a fraudster withdrew £2,100 from his account at cash machines despite the fact he did not lose his card and changed his PIN as soon as he received it. The bank refused to refund the money, claiming that its Chip and PIN system is secure.

The case is the first of its kind and could set a precedent for whether or not the security of the chip and pin chip technology is vulnerable if it were proved Job’s card had been cloned or hacked, it could be the bank’s responsibility to pay.

Job said he was optimistic about winning. “I want the opinion of a judge on this,” he said.

In the US, the burden of proof in such cases falls on banks ­ since a precedent-setting case in the 1990s they have been obliged to provide CCTV evidence of a cardholder making a withdrawal or give the money back.

But in the UK, banks can produce evidence from their computer systems to show that a withdrawal appears to have been made by a customer, said Ross Anderson, a security expert at Cambridge University.

The Halifax said it was confident it would win the case.

“We will be defending the action quite strongly. This is not about the money ­it is a point of principle,” said a spokesman.