The Top Reasons You Should Switch to EMV

Have you seen the commercial for the all-new series of credit cards featuring chip-based cards? Using this revolutionary technology, rather than swiping the magnetic strip-based credit card, the customers out there in the commercial world can now insert a chip into the respective terminal, enter the PIN number, or flash the chip right in front of some reader. However, what are EMV cards, and why should businesses consider using them?

EMV is known to stand for Europay, MasterCard, & Visa. EMV represents a set of global standards for making the procedure of debit & credit card processing highly secure. The revolutionary “chip card” EMV technology is not new –most businesses across the world have been using this highly secure way for accepting both debit as well as credit card payments for several years.

During the 1990s, EMV or Europay, MasterCard, and Visa went forward with establishing a single standard for delivering access to a highly secure mode of the acceptance of card payments. The main concept of the introduction of EMV cards was to reduce the occurrences of frauds. As per the study reports, it has been observed that these chip-based cards are hard to hack in comparison to the standard striped cards. 

If you are running a business, here are some top reasons to opt for EMV cards as soon as possible:

• EMV Cards Tend to be Smarter: While it might not appear significant, still the small-sized gold chips of the EMV cards are known to contain embedded microprocessor. It is a small type of computer or processor that is capable of providing advanced security features along with other capabilities that are otherwise not possible with conventional magnetic strip cards. 

When the EMV cards get inserted into the respective terminal, the reader can exchange data with the card in a convenient manner. With the help of contactless forms of EMV cards, the given reader is capable of reading the chip while allowing for the exchange of data through radio frequency with no requirement of leaving the card from one’s hand. Research reveals that contactless payments tend to be around 53 percent faster in comparison to the conventional magnetic strip card transaction. 

• EMV Cards Tend to be Safer: You must be aware of the major security breaches that took place during transactions at leading stores like Target and other companies. This might not have been the case if these retail giants would have been using the revolutionary EMV technology for payments. EMV cards are regarded as highly secure. 

This is because with this technology, it is difficult to copy security codes and account numbers from the chips than from the traditional magnetic strip-based cards. Moreover, EMV cards are also capable of creating a unique form of code for every transaction –making it difficult to hack the transactions. 

• EMV Cards Represent International Standards: In case you are paying a visit to countries like Europe or Asia, it is recommended that you should be in possession of an EMV credit card. The given advanced forms of debit or credit cards have become standard across the world. These are widely utilized by merchants and users across the world to the extent that most merchants nowadays do not accept magnetic strip cards at all.

As per the latest study reports, it has been estimated that organizations were quite slow to embrace this highly secure form of payment being widely used in Asia & Europe for years. This is because there were concerns like the overall expense along with the lack of proper synchronization amongst retailers, banks, and credit card providers.

• Reducing Losses Related to Frauds: EMV chip-based cards have been proven highly effective in reducing the overall in-store frauds. EMV helps in protecting businesses by reducing the overall loss linked with card-related frauds. It also helps in the creation of a safer payment ecosystem. 

During December 2018, it was reported by Visa that since the period of EMV liability shift in a matter of three years, the revolutionary form of chip card technology has been successful I reducing card-related counterfeit frauds and losses associated with the same by as much as 80 percent amongst the merchants. 

• Limiting the Business Liability: For encouraging the overall adoption of EMV, the modern card payment industry had implemented the overall shift in liability for counterfeiting or frauds. 1st October 2015 was remarkable in the payment industry through the creation of a highly secure world. As a business organization, when you would upgrade to EMV, it will help in ensuring that your business does not serve to be the weakest link. This would help in reducing the overall liability to losses with respect to frauds such that your business continues retaining more of what it is earning.

• Opening Doors to Other Advanced Technologies: In case your business has not upgraded to EMV, whichever form of credit card acceptance terminals you would be using tends to be limited in other crucial ways as well. As you would upgrade to the latest payment acceptance terminal, it would help in bringing other forms of secure innovations like the acceptance of mobile wallets. 

Along with EMV, when you would be upgrading the POS or terminal system, you will add the overall liability to ensure the acceptance of mobile wallets including Google Pay and Apple Pay. 

• Improving the Overall Customer Experience: There is no denying the fact that the introduction of EMV to the consumers is highly smooth and seamless. Equipped with a proper understanding of the overall importance of secure payments, customers are nowadays increasingly adopting the EMV technology for payments. A consumer-based survey of April 2018 reveals that around 73 percent of the consumers in the United States reported amazing experiences with the help of debit cards that are chip-enabled. 

While EMV might not be a cure-all for frauds, it still helps in representing the state of the possible while revealing that coordinated attention around technology can help in the creation of a secure world for modern electronic payments.