As the EMV liability shift takes shape on the US payments landscape, small-to-mid-sized businesses (SMBs) have until October 2015 to comply to avoid fraud liability. When the four major credit card brands – Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover – announced the rollout of EMV chip credit cards to replace those with magnetic stripe earlier this year, US businesses were given the October 2015 deadline to install EMV point of sale (POS) machines at checkout. Until then, credit card issuing banks will assume any liability for credit card fraud. After the 2015 deadline, however, the liability would shift to the merchants.
Giant retailers such as Walmart, Target and Starbucks have already complied, but SMBs have been slow since, comparatively speaking, it is a significant expense to purchase and install EMV POS software.
The Impetus for the EMV Liability Shift
The four major credit card brands were already planning to migrate to EMV chip technology in credit cards. The rash of credit card data breaches through the year, however, expedited the process. Throughout the year, it seemed there was a new data breach each week with some of the nation’s biggest retailers getting hit.
EMV Liability Shift Easy For Some, Not for SMBs
The Targets and Walmarts of the world can afford to switch their POS devices prior to the EMV liability shift, but what about SMBs? A recent article on the website DarkReading.com revealed some telling statistics. A November 2013 survey done by Javelin Study & Research said that only 20 percent of retailers with 20 or less employees would be ready for the 2015 liability shift. Fifty percent indicated little of no knowledge of the liability shift.
As the retail giants become more secure, SMBs who miss the EMV liability shift will eventually become the primary targets for fraudsters and hackers.
What Can SMBs Do?
As stated above, SMBs have until October 2015 before the EMV liability shift takes hold. SMBs who cannot change their POS devices to accommodate EMV chip-enabled credit cards should contact their banking partners to inquire about an extension. Failure to meet the EMV liability shift, however, doesn’t necessarily spell doom for SMBs, but transactions will be more secure with an EMV POS device.
Instabill’s Defense Against CNP Fraud
With EMV chip-enabled credit cards, history says fraudsters will turn to card-not-present (CNP) businesses to wreak havoc. Instabill, however, offers several fraud prevention tools including 3D Secure technology and MaxMind fraud protection, to name a few. Have a conversation with a live merchant account representative by calling 1-800-318-2713 or by selecting the live chat feature above.
