According to a recent survey of 600 U.S. small business owners, only 32 percent of small business owners are aware of the impending Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) rules. These rules require that all businesses upgrade their POS systems so that they can read chip-enabled credit cards by October 1st, 2015. Any business that does not comply with this rule will be liable for any fraud and security breaches that occur within their stores. Currently, if an in-store transaction is made with a stolen card or fraudulent card information, the issuing bank or payment processor is responsible. But on Oct. 1, liability will switch to whichever party (payment processor, issuing bank, or retailer) is the least EMV-compliant in a fraudulent transaction.
Only 35 percent of the businesses surveyed accepted point-of-sale credit card payments. Still amongst businesses that did, only 49 percent knew of the impending deadline. But even of the small businesses that were aware of the deadline, less than 30 percent said they planned to upgrade their equipment by October. Many small business owners don’t believe that the new law will really improve protection, and thus the cost of the upgrades are not justified.
If you are a small business, especially in a high risk market, you should ensure that your POS systems are compliant. Most small businesses can’t afford to be liable for stolen or fraudulent consumer credit card information. Payday loan merchants must ensure that clients are not using stolen information to make loan payments. Since the Federal Consumer Protection Bureau is investigating the integrity of many payday loan lenders, payday lenders must spend extra time scrutinizing a borrowers’ ability to repay loans on time and in full before offering loans.
Depending on the size of the security breach, not being EMV compliant could be enough to destroy a merchant’s profits or the company entirely. That’s why your business needs a professional service to manage your payday loan merchant account. EMB will give all types of merchants the opportunity to accept EMV-chipped cards by the October deadline and after.