does EMV affect?

The point of EMV is to protect consumers from credit card fraud and make transactions more secure. If you own or operate a business that accepts credit card payments at the point of sale, EMV affects you too . . .

is EMV?

EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa. It is the global standard in payment card data and payment security. EMV provides structures that support more secure point of sale transactions, facilitated by smart “chips” embedded in credit and debit cards.

does the EMV Liability Shift come into effect?

Come October 2015, the financial responsibility in the event of some fraudulent transactions will shift to the party with the least secure technology. Traditionally, this responsibility was assumed by card issuers and banks. This means that after October 1 of this year, if your restaurant still uses technology incapable of interacting with EMV chips, you would be required to pay in the event of fraudulent activity.

will we see changes?

Expect to see changes in your own wallet on your credit and debit cards as banks and card issuers upgrade and issue cards with EMV technology.  Expect to see EMV-capable hardware at most businesses that accept credit and debit cards at the point of sale.

does EMV work and how will it affect my business?

EMV-capable card readers are set up to interact with these smart chips, rather than read the magnetic stripe on existing cards (although for the time-being, EMV hardware in the US will be capable of reading both).  Security is increased because while magstripe data never changes, the chips generate a unique code for each transaction that cannot be used again. So, while EMV technology can’t necessarily prevent all data breaches, it will make it more difficult for criminals to profit from the information that they steal.

After the October deadline, liability will shift to the merchant in a few key scenarios including:

• For counterfeit chip-equipped cards, merchants will be responsible for fraudulent mag stripe transactions. In other words, the restaurant would need to pay if it was still using terminals incapable of interacting with the EMV chips that generate a unique code for each transaction. (The chip-enabled terminals are set up to catch fraudulent transactions and reject the card on the spot.)
• For lost or stolen cards, use of a magstripe terminal will also put the responsibility on the restaurant.