In the wake of the October 1st deadline, a lot of people are panicking over EMV upgrades and the liability shifts coming.
Merchants are getting harassed by shady sales-guys convincing them they have to upgrade to their EMV card terminals.
One of the biggest mistakes of upgrading to EMV readers is rushing into it thinking “I need EMV readers or I’ll be screwed!”
Don’t panic
Calm down, take a deep breath, and relax.
As much as certain snake-oil-salesman will call your small business, desperately trying to convince you that you will be fined unless you get their product…it’s simply not true.
Visa and Mastercard have not stated that merchants have to upgrade.
In fact, it’s estimated that only 47% of merchants in the U.S will upgrade their terminals and implement chip cards.
So take your time and don’t feel the need to panic and take any EMV reader.
Make a game plan for if you’re upgrading, measure the costs it’ll take to get new hardware (see blog here). Also realize that if you are merchant that only does all phone orders or online this change will not affect your business, as EMV also does not affect lost or stolen cards.
Feel better? Okay, now that you can sleep easier at night, we’ll leave you with this thought.
Merchants aren’t going to be forced to comply
(knowing this, now could be a great time consider changing credit card processing companies)
Upgrading to EMV is not the end of the world, this isn’t like when the HCA started and you were going to get fined for not having health insurance.
Merchants aren’t going to be forced to comply, so choosing to switch shouldn’t cause a sense of pressure buying.
Take your time and evaluate your options, and see if you can get better machines and a better processor while you’re upgrading!
On a money note, right now with the October deadline looming large, processors are likely to have raised their rates due to the demand.
If you really want to upgrade, try waiting 6 months for the cost to drop down and the costs of the terminals and pin pads.
Still have questions about EMV?
We’ve got you’ve covered, we’ll be covering every topic from costs to liability, right here on the industry’s best blog about EMV.
Just keep reading our blogs!
On one final note, here’s a link for your own enjoyment of the best ways to troll telemarketers.
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If you’d like to learn more about what steps to take with your own business or would like a free EMV and credit card processing consultation, contact us here.