According to a March 2017 Visa Chip Card Update*, over 2 million merchant locations are now accepting chip cards. That represents only 44% of merchants in the US that process credit cards.
Are you a merchant who has waited to upgrade their equipment to an EMV-ready device?
In many ways, you may have benefited from waiting to switch. Maybe your current processor wanted to charge you for an upgrade. Or maybe, like many people, you are wary of new technology and like to see a year or two's worth of progress and bug fixes before hopping on the bandwagon. You're smart!
But 2017 is the perfect time for you to make the switch. And we've got 3 reasons why:
#1 – The Volume Is Growing, The Bugs Are Fixed
In March 2017, over 420 million VISA chip card holders processed a billion Visa chip transactions. This type of volume has led all major card companies to work with industry leaders in card processing and technology to provide greater support for both customers and merchants. The frustrations of transitioning to EMV, like missing tip lines or long wait times, are now a thing of the past.
#2 – EMV Is Beating Fraud
When the EMV migration began, the emphasis was on fraud prevention. The little chip was going to make this world a safer place for payments. Is that true?
The VISA report also shows that counterfeit fraud dollars have dropped 58% in one year. As consumers (and thieves) become accustomed to chip-and-pin transactions, the few merchants that have not switched over to EMV-ready devices are going to be hot targets for fraud.
#3 – It's Not Just A Fad
Most likely you didn't think that EMV was going to just go out of style. But some people do still assume that upgrading to EMV is not really a requirement. In October 2015, payment networks operating in the US implemented a “Fraud Liability Shift”. This means that since that time if merchants were to accept a fraudulent magnetic stripe card transaction, they may be held liable for the chargeback fees. What do you need to do to protect yourself? Simply upgrade your terminal to an EMV-ready device.
It's not a complicated process, and it doesn't have to be expensive. NPP provides many types of EMV devices for our merchants to use for free.
So if you're thinking about making the switch, 2017 is the perfect time to do it!
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*Infographic (opens in new link)