Contents tagged with EMV

  • What merchants need to know about the new credit card fraud liability rules

    February 11, 2015
    Starting October 1, retailers, rather than card issuers, may be held liable for credit card fraud if an EMV card is accepted at an EMV-less terminal.

    New rules for retailer credit card fraud are slated to go into effect on October 1, representing the first major sea change in credit fraud liability in years. But what do merchants need to know to make sure that they're ready for this change?

    According to the financial news website The Street, come this October, U.S. retailers looking to better manage risk after a new shift in fraud liability will need terminals compliant with Europay-MasterCard-Visa (EMV) "smart cards," which are designed to better curb instances of counterfeiting. This shift in determining where liability lies if fraud occurs is just one step in a much larger process of pushing for a more widespread of EMV throughout the U.S.

    While card issuers — predominantly banks — used to … more

  • How will Apple Pay work with EMV?

    October 29, 2014
    Apple Pay could have a positive impact on EMV adoption.

    Apple Pay has been out for a little more than a week now. Thus far, a number of merchants have adopted the service, with varying results. And while user adoption will take time, there is a tremendous amount of hype surrounding Apple Pay as it enters its second week of existence. This is consistent with most Apple product and service launches, and the belief shared among many is that the company that revolutionized digital music, the cell phone and the computer tablet will do so again with payments. However, that still remains to be seen and, before Apple Pay can truly take off, a number of questions must be answered. For example, how will it work with EMV?

    The launch of Apple Pay wasn't the only major industry event to take place in October. Earlier this month, Bank of America rolled … more

  • Bank of America begins EMV debit card rollout

    October 03, 2014
    Bank of America will be implementing EMV technology into its debit cards.

    After months of anticipation, Bank of America is finally beginning to roll out an EMV program that will impact its consumer and small business debit cards. On Wednesday, the bank announced that all consumer and small business debit cards will include an EMV security chip, matching the technology already included in most of its credit cards. This will make Bank of America the first major bank in the United States to implement EMV technology into its debit cards.

    The EMV chip technology encrypts transaction information every time the card is used. According to Bank of America, this information will change with each use, making fraud difficult. Although Bank of America is the first major American bank to use EMV in its debit cards, the expectation is that others will join them and this … more

  • Majority of consumers believe in security of EMV

    July 29, 2014
    Security is a major topic of conversation in the payment industry. Every major breach is news and consumers and businesses alike are putting a higher priority on having the right security features in place.

    Recently, NXP sponsored a survey by Vision Critical of 1011 American adults to examine consumer feelings toward EMV chip-card technology and POS security in general. The results show that that 69 percent of respondents believe that an EMV chip would make their credit payments more secure, while only 5 percent believe the opposite would be true.

    "There is a trust in technology and [in] their financial institutions to ensure their safety," Brintha Koether, the segment director for payments at NXP, told eWeek in a recent article.

    She added that many consumers in the U.S. appear to … more

  • How hard is the EMV deadline?

    July 21, 2014
    One of the biggest topics in the EMV chip card conversation is the looming October 1, 2015 deadline for banks to deploy it. Over the last year, talk surrounding the technology has increased significantly, especially in the wake of the Target security breach. After this debacle, Congress summoned executives from the company to answer questions.

    While all paths seem to be heading toward this solution, the road is not as clear as you may think. A recent article from Fox Business examined several frequently asked questions about EMV, one of which is about the deadline. Many experts seem to believe that this deadline will not be hard.

    "Don't expect a big bang in October of 2015," Doug Johnson, vice president of risk management policy for the American Bankers Association, told the news … more

  • More businesses getting on EMV bandwagon

    June 23, 2014
    More credit card companies are going to get away from the magnetic strips in favor of EMV.

    The need for businesses to adopt EMV technology continues to grow as the October 2015 deadline from MasterCard and Visa gets closer. However, while these two major players are pushing hard, what about the rest of the industry? Is wide-spread adoption really going to happen?

    According to a recent study by the Aite Group, 70 percent of all U.S. credit cards and 41 percent of debit cards will have incorporated EMV technology by the end of 2015. That is a total of 1.1 billion cards. This information was gathered through interviews with 18 out of the top 40 credit card issuers, including seven of the top 10.

    Julie Conroy, the research director at Aite Group, told Computerworld that  "A majority of Americans will have EMV cards in their wallets by the end of 2015."

    This doesn't … more

  • Sam's Club to introduce EMV credit card

    June 11, 2014
    One of the biggest talking points since the Target security breach has been the increased push to deploy EMV chip-and-PIN technology into credit cards. It was brought up when Target executives were brought in front of Congress, and last month the company announced that it has invested $100 million in upgrading its credit card terminals and launching a new company RED Card that uses a chip.

    According to a press release, other organizations are also starting to get onboard. Sam's Club has announced that it plans to introduce a new Sam's Club MasterCard on June 23 that will feature chip-enabled technology. This will improve the security of the cards and make the company the first mass retailer to actively implement chip-enabled cards.

    According to Chris McWilton, the president of … more

  • Is chip technology the peak of security?

    May 30, 2014
    MasterCard and Visa have deadlines of October 2015 for businesses to adopt EMV technology at their cash registers. At that point a liability shift will occur that puts more ownership of a credit card breach on the business if it has not upgraded its systems.

    However, according to an article from the Associated Press, the companies may be trying to speed up the shift and they have some help.

    Richard Hunt, the CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association, brought the banker's perspective to the argument and said that in the case of major fraud, banks are only able to collect pennies on the dollar if a retailer is involved. This is even the case when the card is updated if the retailer in question has not done the same to its processes.

    "We have to improve fraud prevention … more

  • Many companies to fall short of EMV October 2015 deadline

    May 14, 2014
    Since news of the Target point of sale breach broke late last year, the need for improved payment security has been front and center with industry professionals. One of the biggest topics of conversation has been speeding up the adoption of EMV chip-and-PIN technology before the October 2015 deadline.

    A recent article from Bloomberg Businessweek examined this area more closely and found that many companies are still slow to incorporate this technology. The piece features comments from Merchant Warehouse, a credit and debit card transaction processor which handles this for 80,000 U.S. merchants. It is reporting that 40 percent of its partners will not be ready for the deadline. Crone Consulting, a payments advisory firm, is reporting that more than half of all U.S. merchants will miss the … more

  • Target invests in EMV card overhaul

    May 05, 2014
    With the October 2015 deadline for EMV adoption by U.S. business and credit card providers getting closer, it seems as if no movement has really been made. While it has been a major topic of conversation, which hit a fever pitch during the investigation into the Target Breach, there has yet to be a major splash.

    That changed this week when Target announced a $100 million investment plan to improve its payment processes. According to an article from CNN Money, it's headlined by upgraded REDcards -- the retailer's credit card -- that will now feature the chip-and-PIN technology. The merchant will also replace the payment terminals in all 1,797 U.S. stores.

    "Target and MasterCard are taking an important step forward in providing consumers with a secure shopping experience," MasterCard … more