Reports are showing that barely 25% of retail merchants will be fully ready by the time the EMV transition is made in October of this year. With time running out and pressure mounting, more resources are being made available to merchants across the country to help with the liability shift.
Where to Find Information on the EMV Transition
If you own a retail business, and haven’t heard of the EMV transition yet, the time to start is now. The official online guide to all things EMV—GoChipCard.com—provides a useful and easy-to-use online resource to understand EMV both from a merchant’s and consumer’s perspective.
Another great resource on the transition is the Electronic Transaction Association, which has been helping merchants with the transition since it was announced. Through useful videos and articles, merchants can learn the ins-and-outs of what makes EMV special, and how it will provide a safer shopping experience for everyone involved.Finally, the news isn’t a bad place to keep tabs on what’s happening in the EMV world.
We here at Instabill regularly blog on the latest EMV news, but other sources such as PaymentSource and CardNotPresent.com also write on the subject regularly. As the deadline approaches, the subject will undoubtedly appear on more national news outlets.
Understanding the Ramifications of the EMV Deadline
The EMV liability shift is a crucial step to getting merchants and consumers in the U.S. switched from the traditional swipe-card system to the advanced, safer EMV system. The liability shift states that beginning in October of this year, merchants who do not currently meet EMV processing standards could be held liable if they are targeted in a data breach or a similar cyber fraud crime. A recent report from Javelin shows that only 25% of merchants will be ready for this deadline, signaling some major work to do in the coming months.
If You Need Help—Just Ask
Meeting the EMV deadline can be time consuming and costly, but there is a nearly endless amount of resources on the web designed to help merchants in reaching their goal. All merchants—retail, e-commerce, or both—should make use of as many resources as possible. Learning about the EMV system and what has to happen by October is the best way to be prepared.