With the deadline already passed, many local small business owners still ponder the value of switching to the new EMV chip card technology, as well as the cost, risks and payback.
The Small Business Administration offers several resources to help small businesses understand their liability for fraud and make this migration to EMV technology.
U.S. credit card companies are switching from magnetic-stripe technology to cards with embedded chips because they offer increased security when customers use the chip to pay in-store.
These cards reflect a global card payment standard called EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) now used in more than 80 countries.
EMV chips will become the standard for integrated circuit cards (IC cards) to reduce fraud by making every transaction unique. They are much harder to counterfeit or copy. If the card data or card are stolen, the information cannot be used to create counterfeit cards and commit fraud.
The switch means adding new in-store technology and internal processing systems. It also means a change in liability for credit card fraud. As of Oct. 1, the liability for card-present fraud shifted to whichever party is the least EMV-compliant in certain fraudulent transactions.
If your small business has not yet made this transition and you want more information on what the transition means for you, your business and your customers, use these free resources (links and details at tinyurl.com/px9r2aw):
- Free SBA webinars and downloads of previous presentations. The next one, on what small businesses need to know about the switch to chip card technology, is on Oct. 14 at 11 a.m. Tucson time. Register at tinyurl.com/ng88td8
- A free SCORE presentation on your liability for counterfeit fraud on chip card accounts, at tinyurl.com/oluybf3
- The Smart Card Alliance, a not-for-profit multi-industry smart card advocacy association, offers online resources for all industry stakeholders on the status of EMV migration. See
- emv-connection.com online.
