Deadline is approaching -- Is the point of sale EMV ready?

November 24, 2020 10:00

If your company hasn't yet changed to EMV / Chip and PIN payment processing then you want to consider making this change sooner rather than later.

Whilst you want to make certain that your customers aren't targeted by card fraud, your company also should be protected at exactly the exact same time. Visa, Discover, Mastercard and Amex have declared that they'll be making merchants who haven't adopted chip and PIN payment processing accountable for the cost of any fraud that may occur because of some of the POS transactions. Here's the compliance deadlines that companies with retail POS systems will need to know.

Canada

Whilst Amex, Mastercard and Visa all implemented a liability shift in 2012, Discover and Interac are slower to follow. Interac will stop processing non-EMV transactions at POS terminals after 31 December 2015. Discover will change accountability for fraud to the merchant on 1 October 2015. Pay at pump gas stations will have until 1 October 2017 to become EMV compliant.

Mexico

Together with major card issuers having already passed accountability to merchants, Discover will execute their accountability change on 1 October 2015, with pay at pump gasoline stations affected from 1 October 2017.

United States

Amex, Discover, Mastercard and Visa will shift liability for fraudulent POS transactions to the merchant from 1 October 2015. Pay at pump gas stations will have until 1 October 2017 to become compliant. The transition to all customers in these states having EMV cards is now happening as banks and card companies roll out the new style cards in stages. Debit cards are taking considerably more as bank merchants are also modifying their own software to take them. We understand how important it is to make certain you're giving your clients the secure and efficient spending experience they require. Evolving to EMV technology for your point of sale will keep your transactions safe for both your clients and your company.

See also

Recognizing EMV Chip Card Technology

A lot people take EMV Chip Card technologies for granted, accepting it as the method that we have to now use to create credit or debit card transactions. However not so long ago we were seeing our cards get swiped and signing receipts so as to make payments. So what's changed? What actually is EMV chip card technologies and why is advantageous for companies and consumers alike?

"EMV® is a worldwide standard for debit and credit payment cards based on processor card technology". The title EMV comes from Europay, Mastercard and Visa who developed the system we currently use for many cashless transactions. It had been established as a means of processing payments from cards which contain microchips that's why it's usually called'chip and PIN'. For those retail POS systems that take it, the need for a personal PIN code serves as another layer of cardholder verification on an already protected procedure.

So what are the key differences between EMV chip & pin transactions and magnetic stripe swiping?

The most crucial distinction is the degree of information that is shared. When payments are processed using only the magnetic stripe, the only information that's really shared is your card number and expiry date. But when using EMV chip card technologies there's far more information shared and this requires much larger processing. The other distinction is the amount of security every method of payment provides your clients and your company. With favourite fraud methods usually constantly resorting to the weakest technology, magnetic stripe cards and transactions are the easiest target. Fraudsters have found they can use cheap card scanning devices to replicate the information stored on the magnetic stripes of cards. This means that they will have access to your card number and card expiry date. This practice is called skimming and has been discovered globally. It's very easy to do if at the point of sale you're requested to hand your card over for the cashier to swipe, as opposed to doing it yourself. When using chip and PIN to complete a payment, a special transaction code is made each time with a cryptographic key. It's this code together with the entrance of a personal pin code which makes stolen information less useful to thieves. The card details are only part of the information needed to be able to spend. Even if a thief was able to obtain card information, they wouldn't have the capability of producing a transaction code for in-store purchases. The POS device will check the usage of this card by piecing together and ensuring the validity of each the individual safety measures. As of now, many payment providers are already offering the technologies and our POS system already incorporates with best of these so you can select from a list of payment gateway providers which is most appropriate for your business.

What about safety for'card not present' (CNP) transactions?

Standard online fraud protection generally requests additional information in the kind of card or address security code verification. However some companies are taking this a step further in order to protect themselves and their customers from fraudulent transactions. The implementation of additional safety questions has become common for those companies which take payments from regular clients. Examples of the additional information they are asking includes date of birth, middle name or password that the cashier (for phone transactions) or system may then match to a client profile. Many online transactions are also protected by the systems set in place from the major card companies. These include 'Verified by Visa', 'Mastercard Securecode' and 'American Express SafeKey'.

Can Chip cards be used at retailers that don't support EMV technology?

Yes, they could. Your magnetic stripe can nevertheless be swiped, however you'll not have the additional security that accompanies chip-reading and entering a personal PIN code. However there are numerous changes approaching with respect to the processing of non-EMV tech payments. However in the USA, Mexico and Canada there are lots of changes approaching with respect to the processing of non-EMV tech payments. Keep an eye out for our article'How card payment accountability is shifting (US, Mexican and Canadian companies ) -- make your POS prepared for October 2015' for the info you will need to know.

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