As of late, EMV chip debit and credit cards have become a topic of hot debate among customers and businesses alike. This new technology will take effect in October 2015, and is said to be a major milestone for financial institutions, credit card issuers, retailers and business persons. For gas station owners, adopting this new technology might bring some additional opportunities. But then,there’s the factor of costs and fear of the unknown. Thus, we shed some light on this scenario. Here’s everything you should know about EMV:

What Is An EMV Card?

EMV was a brainchild of a joint venture between EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa; this is where the abbreviation is inspired from. It isa kind of technology that is incorporated into debit and credit cards in form of a fraud-resistant computer-chip authentication protocol. Today, EMV has been adopted and implemented by almost every country in the world, with the exception of the United States. This, however, is about to change in October.

Why The Change?

Currently, there are 1.24 billion payment cards and 15.4 million POS terminals currently in use all over the world. The idea is to make global financial transactions work across various platforms using the EMV smart chip card. However, the main focus on this change is the factor of security, or rather, the lack of it.

Here’s a statistics that will keep you wondering: while the U.S. accounts for about a quarterof all global credit card transactions, over half the credit card frauds take place here! According to a Nilson Report in August 2013, in 2012, credit card and debit card losses amounted to $11.27 billion. Card issuers incurred 63% of the loss, with merchant losses going up to 37%.

Thus, the EMV technology is primarily designed to replace the magnetic stripe card in traditionalplastic cards that are now pegged fraud-prone. Instead, they are now replacedwith a computer chip that protects card holders and merchants from fraud or losses.

Why Is EMV Important For You?

All major card brands, including Visa, MasterCar, Discover, Amex have set a deadline for U.S. businesses to make the transformation to EMV systems of accepting payments. This means that you will be required to upgrade your equipment. This brings us to a key component of this new technology: the liability shift.

Not complying with this new update does not mean that you will not be able to accept credit card payments. You can accept the payments. However, the liability changes here.

Right at this moment, if someone uses their traditional fraudulent card, you will not be held responsible for the act. However, come October, if you as a merchant use a non-EMV compliant device to accept transactions made with EMV-compliant card, you inadvertently assume liability for any fraudulent transactions that may have taken place from that card.

The coming months is going to bring a major change. The question is: are you prepared?

As petroleum equipment suppliers, John W. Kennedy Company provides service station equipment that can help you enhance your business! For more details, contact the company today!