Even though card issuers have introduced new security standards, there are still institutions that hold out. Retailers are to blame as well in this regard. But as it turns out, those who hold off on embracing EMV payment standards are running out of time to do so. This applies in particular to the US market, where only 37% of all merchants have an EMV-capable terminal.
EMV Adoption Rates Still Very Disappointing
When processing card payments, the risk of fraud and chargebacks should not be underestimated by any means. Thankfully, there is a convenient solution to this problem in the form of EMV standards. EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa, the three companies that originally created the standards required in order to process their credit cards.
Retailers will have to upgrade their payment terminals to ensure that they can process cards through this new method rather than just swiping them. In order to comply with these standards, the point of sale terminal must accept chip cards, and allow for the card to be “dipped”, unlike the legacy terminals which only processed the card’s magnetic strip by swiping.
Over in the United States, the adoption rate of these new terminals is lackluster at best. Just over one in three merchants are using EMV terminals right now. That is rather surprising, considering the liability for fraudulent card payments having been shifted to retailers over a year ago. No one in their right mind wants to risk having to pay back millions in damages due to card fraud.
It appears that there is little to no motivation for US retailers to embrace EMV technology right now. At the same time, most business owners do not seem overly concerned about fraudulent payment threats, which is far more worrisome. As long as they do not run into trouble, there is no real reason to upgrade terminals. However, by the time they do so, it may be too late already.
That being said, integrating EMV technology has never been a quick process in any part of the world. It took the United Kingdom five full years to make it the new payment standard among retailers. The US market, which is much larger, will take even more time to fully convert to this new way of dealing with card payments.
In the end, it all comes down to realizing there is no other option than switching to an EMV terminal. Payment card fraud is on the rise all over the world, and no one wants to deal with such a negative experience. It is bad business for both retailer and consumer to deal with fraud at any given time.
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