Are You Prepared For EMV?

A new buzz word has been going around...EMV...what is it? How does it affect my business? And what the heck do I do to prepare? With so many recent data breaches making local, regional and national news and costing companies and consumers billions of dollars in credit card fraud, major credit card brands have been forced to shift the liability to acquirers and merchants beginning October 1, 2015.  So, what does this mean?

How are merchants affected? The major card brands have indicated that all liability from fraud losses will shift to the party who has not put EMV cards in place...meaning if you are an issuer or merchant that does not support EMV you will assume the liability for fraudulent card transactions. Not sure what EMV is?  EMV, which stands for Europay, MasterCard, and Visa, is a global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards (IC cards or 'chip cards') and IC card capable point of sale (POS) terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs), for authenticating credit and debit card transactions.

If you are a merchant who accepts card present payments it is very important that you start planning now to implement a strategy to accept EMV payments before the deadline. But don't stress.  There IS good news! If your strategy includes upgrades that allow EMV contact and contactless-enabled point of sale devices, you may be eligible to be exempt from PCI (Payment Card Industry) audits. Although you may experience costs up front, making these changes now can save you money long term.

If you have any questions of comments, I welcome your feedback.  If there is a topic you'd like to see addressed in a future blog, feel free to reach out to me!

Zach Allen Regional Vice President at Chosen Payments
Credit Card Processing | ACH | Gift/Loyalty Cards | Mobile & Ecommerce Payments | ATM

Toll Free: 1.855.424.6736 x. 116
zach.allen@chosenpayments.com  |  www.ChosenPayments.com 
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