The month EMV migration was to roll through the U.S. is here. October 2015 was the date given for the shift to occur and for the industry to, hopefully, see a significant reduction of fraudulent activity within the card-present (CP) environment. However, the EMV migration carries with it a new concern. The expectation now is that the card-not-present (CNP) and the online purchase environment will experience a hit. In pre-EMV America, the most prevalent type of fraud was from counterfeit, lost or stolen magnetic-stripe based cards. These cards became an easy mark for hackers attempting to break into retail POS […]

Congress has finally admitted that they need to act about the issues involving data theft. From last year’s Target/Neiman Marcus data theft to June 2014’s PF Chang’s data theft, there is a massive need for data security reform. However, while Congress is “interested”, the card companies already have a fix. Data theft can occur in many ways. The “old fashioned” method of sticky tape on ATM machines is still used by some, however newer data thieves are more brazen and more tech savvy. With the Target data breach, a foreign hacker managed to hack into terminals via a computer virus. […]

With the October 2015 deadline looming, many are speculating that only a minority of merchants are prepared for EMV. As of right now, issuers and merchants have 16 months until the deadline for the EMV pin and chip cards to be implemented. Gas stations have been given a deadline of October 2017. After the deadlines have passed, the liability incurred for counterfeit card fraud will shift to the party who has not equipped themselves for EMV. For the rest of the developed world, the EMV pin and chip card standard has been well established for 20 years. However, many small […]

The recent rise in cyber hacking has led to the rush to switch to chip and PIN technology. While it is set to hit the market in 2015, many vendors are going ahead and making the switch via their store-specific credit cards. While this is great, a recent Digital Transaction News, or DNT survey found that many “average” merchants were actually prepared for the change. About two-thirds of respondents say no more than 40% of merchants will be ready to perform chip card transactions using the Europay-MasterCard-Visa standard. The survey asked how many merchants will be ready by October 2015 […]

October 2015 is the first deadline for the transformation of U.S. credit and debit cards from the current magnetic strip cards to smart cards embedded with a chip. After the deadline the liability for fraudulent transactions will be on merchants who don’t support the EMV chip card standard. This however, is dependent on the deadline not being postponed as many in the payments industry speculate. There are a few reasons for the speculation. Firstly because the U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Fed hasn’t followed Congress’ aim of implementing the Durbin Amendment’s interchange price […]