As a courtesy to our customers (particularly those who also operate store-front locations), we wanted to spread the word about an upcoming change to credit card processing. Starting October 1st, the liability on chargebacks could be shifted from your payment processor to your business if an EMV card reader is not being used to process transactions.
According to this Entrepreneur article, the change is coming about due to increased security being designed into credit cards to help prevent fraud. EMV cards are similar to magnetic stripe cards. However, they are more secure as there is a microprocessor embedded in the card. This microprocessor generates what is essentially a one-time code with each transaction. This one-time authentication is what makes the cards more secure from fraud. Standard magnetic stripe cards are relatively easy to duplicate, and as such, more likely to be implicated in fraud.
This change to EMV card readers is “voluntary”, however payment processors and banks will definitely be encouraging their customers to make the switch. For businesses though, the switch in liability should be enough motivation to make the change “mandatory”. For more details on this impending change, read the full Entrepreneur article.
