EMV: What Your Business Needs to Know

EMV (which is an acronym for Europay, MasterCard® and Visa®) is a more secure way of accepting payments. A “smart card” and an EMV-enabled point of sale solution are required to leverage the technology and security capabilities inherent in EMV. Smart cards contain a “chip” capable of more sophisticated security than traditional magnetic stripe cards, keeping cardholders safer and combatting counterfeiting and fraud by assigning dynamic values for each transaction. Since fraudsters cannot skim or copy chip card data, EMV technology helps reduce fraud risks for your business and your customers.

THE UNITED STATES HAS TRANSITIONED TO EMV

Financial institutions have issued EMV cards that contain a magnetic stripe as well. A customer can swipe an EMV card using the magnetic stripe, but that does not take advantage of added security technology embedded on the card’s chip and is not considered to be an EMV transaction. The process for an EMV transaction is different than a magnetic swipe transaction. With EMV transactions, the cardholder inserts the card into an EMV terminal, where it stays during the transaction. In some cases the customer will be prompted for a PIN (this is very much like a debit transaction). For this reason, EMV cards are commonly referred to as “Chip and PIN” cards. Alternatively, some cards may still require a signature instead of a PIN. EMV cards can also be referred to “Chip and Signature” in this instance. During an EMV transaction, the card never leaves the cardholder’s hand. You present the payment terminal to your customer – even in restaurant environments.

HOW DOES EMV HELP YOUR BUSINESS?

EMV benefits everyone associated with your business. Consumers have fewer reasons to worry about the security of their payment information and will have a payment card that works anywhere in the world. Your business benefits from the reduction in card fraud resulting from counterfeit, lost and stolen cards.