EMV Chip Credit Cards. Let’s talk again… If you haven’t gotten your chip reader yet, let’s start with don’t panic! Let’s first make it crystal clear what EMV is not. Contrary to what you may have heard from any other ill informed source, EMV is NOT a mandate… it is NOT a law… it is not a compliance issue… and October 1st was NOT a “deadline”! Solicitations from those trying to get your business are the ONLY time those terms have been associated with the subject of EMV. The card brands have not used those terms when communicating about EMV! October 1st is not Y2K for card processing industry! October 1st was merely the date that the card brands implement the liability shift. Magnetic stripes are not going away any time soon, and chip cards can be swiped! In fact, it is an EMV co requirement that for the next several years, all U.S. issued bank cards must still have a magnetic stripe on the back of the card in the same place they’ve always been. If you have a “chipped” card, check for yourself, it’s there! Thousands of independent sales organizations started using EMV well over two years ago as a scare tactic to acquire new business. In my 30+ years in the payments industry, I think it may be the most misrepresented, deceptively used subject ever, especially from solicitors using the subject to scare people in their attempts to acquire new business. The first and foremost misguided information has been that October 1st is a “deadline”, which as we’ve already clarified, is just the date to implement the liability shift. Which means, if a transaction is reported as counterfeit, you could be liable for the transaction on or after October 1st. Healthcare providers do not have the same exposure to counterfeit cards as the regular “retail” merchants have. The EMV “chip” embedded in the card is a tool for retail merchants to combat “Anonymous” face to face counterfeit card fraud. 99.99% of the people that walk in to any Healthcare establishment, fills out forms with their name, address, phone number, DOB and SS#, along with a copy of their driver’s license and insurance card. That is not being “Anonymous”! What are the odds that person is going to intentionally hand over a counterfeit card for payment? Tangible data ran on healthcare only transactions support that the exposure to counterfeit cards is around .001%. Unfortunately, most of the EMV information for healthcare providers has come from nonpayment industry publications, or has come from their state and national Healthcare Associations. Those entities have partnered with many less than credible processors that use the same misguided, deceptive EMV “scare” sales tactics to solicit their members, as they do any other industry. The fact that these groups have subjected their members to these fear tactics is a bit irresponsible in my humble opinion. Again, EMV is not a law, it is not a compliance issue, and it is not a mandate of any sort. Adopting EMV technology is completely optional to any merchant, which includes Healthcare providers. If you want the straight facts about EMV and its impact on your practice, please contact Professional Merchants Inc. For over ten years now, PMI has been providing excellent service to our members while consistently yielding the lowest overall cost for processing credit cards, year after year. It should also be noted that they pass all card processing equipment through to Vision Source members at their direct cost, no markup! For additional information on converting to EMV technology contact:
Professional Merchants Inc. Scott McBrayer (800) 450-0628
[email protected]
