The EMV Liability Shift Deadline – Sooner than we think!

The well-publicized EMV mandate is looming larger for merchants as we quickly approach the October 1st, 2015 deadline. That is the date when the counterfeit and, in some cases, the lost or stolen liability shifts from the big banks to the merchant. After October 1st, if a chip-enabled card is presented for payment and the merchant is unable to read the chip on its terminal, the merchant assumes the burden of the fraud risk. Please re-read that carefully: The merchant, not the issuing bank, assumes the burden of the fraud risk.

EMV and NFC (ApplePay) terminals are abundant and available and affordable today. They provide fast, reliable processing for merchants who prefer to use a counter top solution. If you are a merchant with a POS system, you may not have an EMV compatible solution yet. A new device will be required to read the chip cards that your customers will be using to pay for goods and services. It is also very likely that the operating system will need to be upgraded to accommodate the EMV processing requirements as well.

Very few current POS units are equipped with EMV or NFC functionality. The certification cost for the POS companies is extremely high. Also, it takes a long time to get the proper certification from various processors and from each of the credit card brands. Consequently, many companies have waited until the last minute to obtain the certification and integrate a new swipe device with their software.

At SignaPay we understand how important it is to have the best solution possible. That’s why we offer the Clover Station and the uAccept POS to our partners and merchants. A substantial amount of work and investment has gone into these two systems to bring the technology up to date with the latest regulations. Both will ensure EMV compliance well before the mandate goes into effect on October 1st.