EMV Liability: What you need to know
Since EMV chips cards were introduced in the United States in 2015 they have become the norm replacing the familiar magstripe. So, what is EMV, how does it impact your business and what should you do?
EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa. It is the global standard for credit card authorization. EMV compliance shifted in the United States in late 2015, however the Unites States was one of the last nations to implement this technology. EMV chip technology enhances security by embedding the cardholder’s information in a microchip. Currently, most cards contain both a chip and the traditional magstripe, eventually the magstripe could go away. Magstripe are prone to hacking and breaches. With data breaches on the rise costing billions of dollars, this spells disaster. EMV increases security and helps prevent counterfeiting.
How Does EMV Affect My Business?
When the United Stated adopted this new technology a deadline of October 1, 2015 was set to become EMV complaint. To become EMB compliance a consumer’s credit card must be inserted into a credit card machine to complete a sales transaction. The old school magstripe swipe will no longer suffice. If your business is still swiping cards, you are not doing anything illegal, as it is currently not mandatory to become EMV compliant, but you are putting your business at risk if you encounter a scam artist trying to take advantage of your lack of EMV support. With the liability shift of EMV compliance, if a business owner does not become compliant and has the unfortunate circumstance of encountering a data breach or fraud, the business owner will be held accountable for any consumer loss.
What About The Hospitality Industry?
The hospitality industry (restaurants and bars) will eventually have to convert to chips readers as that is the way the technology is heading. It is not common to see chip readers at a restaurant currently, however since EMV chip compliance is on its way to being mandatory bar and restaurant owners need to start taking notice. Currently most restaurant Point of Sale systems have magstripe readers installed directly on the terminals. Most newer POS systems can comply with EMV compliance, you may just have to upgrade your POS system.
Customers will not see a difference in how payments are completed as EMV transactions can be done using “chip and signature” method. The customer will still be able to tip once they see their bill all with the comfort of knowing their information is secure.
What Can I Do To Comply With EMV?
Upgrading to a new POS system that complies with EMV can help protect your customers information and help protect your business. As small business owners, we at CraftPOS, understand the cost and headache of changing a point of sale system. We will assist your business any way we can to make sure the transition is smooth and to make sure you are following the new EMV regulations.
If changing your entire point of sale system just sounds like too much of a pain, simply adding an EMV compliant credit card terminal to your existing point of sale could put you in compliance. CraftPOS Credit can assist with getting you compliance and even possibly getting you a better rate.
It is a smart decision to protect your business and it can also help win over customer trust by showing that you are keeping up with the latest hardware and security measures. If you are not accepting chip card payments yet, it is time to reach out to CraftPOS for your POS options, or if you are just wanting to investigate upgrading your payment processing, CraftPOS Credit can assist in helping you decide which direction to take whether it be equipment advice, or lowering your current rates, we can help.
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