EMV Protects Your Company and Your Customers
Over the past decade, a small microchip has been added to the right side of bank and credit cards. Instead of swiping this card, users insert the microchip into a reader to pay, or they may also be able to simply tap their card on the reader.
This technology is called EMV or “smart cards.” It was designed to make credit card payments easier and more secure for both buyers and sellers. EMV cards are more difficult to replicate (counterfeit) than traditional cards, and they allow merchants to more easily verify the card’s authenticity.
If your business still has not upgraded to EMV, then making this transition should be on your radar for the immediate future. Here’s why:
Customer Satisfaction
Customers are used to inserting or tapping their cards to pay, and during the pandemic, contactless payment became even more important to customers. Offering EMV will therefore increase your guest satisfaction by giving them the experience that they are used to at other businesses.
Upgrading to EMV will also give you the capability to accept payments from apps like Apple Pay and Google Pay. These apps became more popular in 2020 as contactless payment became more in-demand, so many customers will appreciate being able to use these features.
Increased Security
Adopting EMV also increases the overall security of your transactions. EMV cards are substantially more difficult to replicate, so your POS terminal will be more likely to detect a fraudulent card before you accept it.
EMV-enabled systems also produce more secure transaction data. With EMV, all of your business transactions will be encrypted, making them useless to potential cyber attackers. This helps ensure that your business won’t suffer from a massive data breach.
Also, the real and perceived sense of security that using EMV brings customers cannot be underestimated.
Decreased Fraud Liability
In the past, liability for fraud where a card was present fell back onto the issuing bank or payment processor, depending on the terms of the card agreement. However, since 2015, major credit card companies have changed the rules so that the liability for fraud falls on the party that is the least EMV-compliant.
So, if your business doesn’t have EMV, then you would be liable for the fraud since you were the least EMV-compliant party. Switch to EMV to ensure that your company doesn’t take a financial hit due to fraud.
How Do I Upgrade?
If your company has not yet adopted EMV, it’s time to upgrade your infrastructure. To do so, you will need to ensure that you have the right software and hardware to process EMV transactions. The software part is easy – most payment processors, such as square, already have those capabilities available. However, you will also need to upgrade your POS systems and card readers.
While this is a business investment, you can ease the financial aspect of it with a trusted financing partner like GLFS. We’ll help you come up with a financing plan that works for your business, and you can reap all of the benefits of upgrading to EMV.