As a business owner, I’m sure you are all sick and tired of hearing about EMV Compliance. It has been everywhere for the last year, and nobody seems to know what is going on. Nobody understands the purpose of it and nobody cares. I mean the deadline was supposed to be October of 2015 that everyone had to be EMV Compliant. But that was nine months ago, and still, nobody cares.
Does it matter? Is it worth the cost? What’s the point? Why the big change? Should I care?
The EMV shift is EXTREMELY important. The Government has put a couple of extensions on the deadline due to the amount of work needed to make this change was a larger challenge than expected. But even more important than it being a government mandate is the benefit you are providing to your customers. Below are a few frequent questions I get when talking to people about EMV. I hope they help you understand better the benefits of being compliant.
So what is different with the Magnetic Strip to the EMV Chip?
The Magnetic strip has a standard set of information that is used over and over again on every transaction, Whereas the EMV chip creates a unique transaction code every single time it is used that cannot be reused or duplicated. That means if someone hacks into your terminal all the information they will find is useless, and they can’t use to steal client’s credit card information.
Is it important to make the switch?
YES! Overwhelmingly yes! If you are not EMV compliant, and you have someone come into your store with a stolen credit card and runs a transaction YOU as the business owner are liable. If you are compliant, then the liability falls back on the bank and processor.
Is the EMV role out of cards done yet?
For the most part, all banks and credit cards should have sent out replacement EMV cards over the last year, but there are still some that haven’t been able to get everything out yet so be patient if you haven’t received your chip readers yet.
My ATM and Gas station don’t take EMV Cards. Why not?
Gas pumps and ATMS have extended deadlines to be compliant; Banks are supposed to be complete by the end of this year, and Gas pumps by 2017.
Is the transaction longer with EMV then with the Magnetic Stripe?
Yes and no, Depending on the machines you are working with some are faster than others but overall the time it takes is about the same. However as companies get more familiar with this new system, the speed of the transaction should improve quite a bit.
Does EMV help reduce fraud?
YES! Over 80 countries around the world have switched to using EMV cards over the last 15 years, and each one of them has seen amazing results. Countries like France and Canada saw drops in fraud around 70-90% since before they used EMV. Since October Visa and MasterCard are seeing about a 20% drop already.
I hope these answers helped you understand the benefit of using your EMV cards personally as well as through your business. If you have any further questions, I am more than happy to help and provide any equipment necessary to get your business on track.
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The original post was an interview with our very own David Whistler.
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