More Consumers Receiving Chip Cards. Now What?

With the October 1st liability shift just around the corner, more and more consumers are seeing chips embedded in their credit cards.

“Many customers already have a replacement credit or debit card with an EMV chip on it from their banks.

The chip is being used to reduce fraudulent card activity, but it should be seamless for consumers.

“The main thing that the card holder will see is when they actually use the card,” said John Kustes, Chief Executive Officer of American Bank and Trust, NA. There will be a slot that the card can be inserted in, instead of sliding.”

According to Mercator’s latest EMV projections, published in the Research Note Migrating to EMV: The (Not So) Final Countdown, more than 50% of credit cards will be EMV capable by the end of the year. The story for merchants is a little less optimistic, as evidenced by the anecdotal data presented in this article.

“Some businesses are still waiting to switch over. “We are not going to convert right away,” said Psyndy Compton-Muse, owner of Mama Compton’s in Rock Island.

She says she has never seen false credit card use in her restaurant over the years. “We are a small community here in the Midwest. [EMV cards] are more prevalent in big cities like Chicago.”

For now, Compton-Muse says she is saving up to $600 by not purchasing a new EMV machine. “Those terminals are very expensive, and in order to defray the cost we are going to let it ride a little and we will convert over.”

Overview by Alex Johnson, Sr. Analyst, Credit Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group

Read the full story here