Though gas stations received an extension for the EMV liability shift, AVP Solutions is still seeing far too many businesses dragging their feet on upgrading their equipment to comply with secure payment processing regulations. We’ve discussed this issue many times in past EMV Chip blog posts because we truly believe this is one area in which retailers with POS terminals are opening themselves up for serious problems.
Here are the two main situations we’ve encountered:
1) Small businesses who continue to use their outdated terminals to avoid the costs of equipment upgrades. Some even view their overall risk as minimal based on their business-type, location, or customer base.
2) Businesses who actually possess EMV-ready terminals, but who have not upgraded software or taken the necessary steps to bring the EMV process online. These businesses continue to rely on the magnetic swipers and are dragging their feet when it comes to taking the necessary steps to finalize their EMV implementation.
AVPS continues to emphasize the importance of credit card transaction security because we feel that a lack thereof places our clients’ financial health in severe danger. Everyone thinks that fraud will never happen to them, or that they still have plenty of time to upgrade their equipment. We encourage you to picture the following scenario:
Tomorrow afternoon, a new customer walks into your business. She seems polite, interested, and overall appears to be completely normal in comparison to your usual clientele. Even better? She makes a fairly large purchase…but not large enough to make you think something’s amiss. Rather, her purchase is just substantial enough that you inwardly congratulate yourself on a great sales day, which will certainly boost your monthly profit. Two weeks afterward, you receive a call from your financial institution; the card she used was a clone, and since you did not process it as an EMV card, the loss is your responsibility. Now, you are on the hook for a substantial loss, you have a strike against you with your financial institution, and your seemingly profitable month is now a major loss. Do you have the financial reserves to deal with this scenario?
As a true advocate for credit card processing risk management solutions, AVPS will continue our mission of education and outreach, because we believe that fraud represents a cancer for both our clients and their customers.
We can’t overemphasize the importance of EMV compliance, or that short-term investments and effort translate into long-term financial security. If your business is still not up-to-date with EMV processing, contact a representative today to discuss your options and take control of your transaction security.
