Non-compliant Retailers Face New Pressure to Begin Upgrade Process
The October 2020 EMV deadline for gas station forecourts in the United States is staying put, according to a new report from NACS. Forget the hopes and rumors that the deadline would get delayed again. For retailers who haven’t started their upgrade, that means their safety net is going away – very soon.
As the first to offer a full EMV solution for gas stations, Gilbarco Veeder-Root can help retailers get started and make up for lost time. 95% of the Passport™ Point-of-Sale installed base is outdoor EMV-ready with 10 million chip card transactions completed and counting. The longer retailers wait, the greater the chance that they’ll miss the deadline — and face the financial risks of the liability shift.
What It Means for Retailers
If your dispensers are still not EMV-compliant by next October and you ring up a sale with a counterfeit card, all the liability for the losses from counterfeit card fraud shifts from the bank to you. You’ll get a chargeback for the entire loss. In 2021, Conexxus projects non-compliant stores will get hit with nearly $13,000 in liability per store and that number is projected to increase to more than $31,000 in 2022. No retailer wants to be hit by that liability shift.
Fraud Migration
As more sites get upgraded to EMV readers, criminals will focus their attacks on the shrinking number of unsecured sites. This is commonly known as fraud migration.
So if you’re one of the last sites to upgrade — or don’t upgrade at all — you’ll have limited options: make customers pay inside the store on a POS terminal; become a cash-only business; or take your chances and hope you don’t get hit by fraud, chargebacks and fees. All of these scenarios are business-killers that retailers can’t afford.
Breaking Cost Barriers
We know that the biggest barrier to EMV compliance is cost, particularly for retailers with 25 or fewer sites that may not be able to make upfront investments easily.
That’s why we encourage you to talk with a Gilbarco distributor about your options. They’re experts in EMV and can offer good advice and recommend the right suite of products to make you compliant now and into the future. In addition, a Gilbarco distributor can also explain a range of payment and financing options that fit your individual situation.
Bottom line, the news means retailers need to take the EMV deadline seriously and act now, like their business depends on it – because it does.