MasterCard Adds ATMs onto EMV Migration Roadmap

From Business Wire:

MasterCard today announced the expansion of its U.S. electronic payments roadmap to include the ATM channel. Beginning in October 2016, a liability shift hierarchy will be introduced for ATM transactions in the U.S., as part of an effort to globally align the use of EMV technology to prevent and manage fraud in the payments ecosystem.

The liability shift will apply to all MasterCard-branded products across all transactions initiated at U.S. ATMs. As part of its roadmap unveiled in January, MasterCard identified the need to further secure all channels by means of the implementation of EMV standards in the U.S. The company has taken a leadership role to foster collaboration to drive a smooth migration and advance the U.S. electronic payments system to deliver maximum benefits to consumers and the industry.

“This continues our commitment to look holistically at the next generation of U.S. payments,” said Mike Weitzman, Group Executive, U.S. Markets, MasterCard. “As other markets have migrated to EMV, we have seen fraud shift to the least secure channel. By establishing this liability shift, we’re advancing efforts to prevent and reduce fraud. At the same time, by making the announcement today, we’re providing our issuers, acquirers and ISOs flexibility and sufficient time to manage their ATM technology decisions.”

By extending the EMV migration roadmap to the ATM channel, MasterCard is setting in motion new initiatives to bolster the security of the ATM channel, as well as to define new liability standards.

As various payments systems move to include EMV capabilities, channels that predominantly use magnetic stripe technology, like ATMs, would be increasingly vulnerable over time as thieves and fraudsters move their attention to easier prey.

With a concerted effort to increase adoption throughout the payments and ATM channel ecosystems in the near future, such efforts will make it increasingly difficult for those with nefarious intentions.

Click here to read more about MasterCard’s initiative.