EMV Is the PoS Terminal’s Best Friend
With the deadline for the move to EMV adoption by retailers coming fast — October — many retailers have already made the move and now consumers are faced with becoming familiar with the security technology when providing payment at the point of sale (PoS). But while that’s true for many, it’s not for all.
Visa hopes to accelerate EMV adoption.
Although EMV, or chip-and-pin, cards are widespread in Europe, only some 59% of U.S. point-of-sale (POS) terminals will be EMV-enabled by the end of this year, according to research by Aite Group. That means that when the liability shift occurs this Fall, almost half of all merchants will be vulnerable to counterfeit card fraud and the liability will be on them. With the data breaches that occurred in the not-so-distant past — Neiman Marcus, Sally Beauty, Michaels’ just to name a few — it’s a risk that few retailers should willingly want to take.
Approximately half of all credit card fraud occurs in the United States, although the country only makes up one quarter of all credit card transactions, according to a report Barclays put out earlier this month. Of course, as the October deadline approaches, there has been — and will likely continue to e — an uptick in EMV adoption. In the recent report, U.S. Market analysis of POS Terminals and EMV & NFC Status Review, Research and Markets found that the installed base of EMV terminals in the U.S. is expected reach around 65% by the end of 2020. That leaves 35% of merchants willing to roll the dice and potentially bear liability if customer data is breached.
The Research and Markets report also uncovered another interesting fact: EMV POS terminal adoption differs widely by retail market segment:
The specialty, mass merchants & grocery category and pharmacy/drug store category are leaders in the adoption of EMV POS with a penetration rate of more than 60% by the end of 2014.On the other hand, gasoline station merchants who enjoy a buffer time of two additional years for the liability shift have the lowest adoption rate of EMV. The adoption rate is still a single digit number. Regarding EMV adoption, we got a mixed response from hotels and restaurants. Many QSRs are reluctant to shift to EMV.
Ultimately, consumers will be the catalyst for the hold-out merchants to change. As consumers become educated as to the benefits of EMV enabled cards, retailers will feel greater pressure to adopt the technology. By protecting customer data, retailers can also differentiate themselves — at this point — from the competition that is not yet EMV compliant.
