If your business is operating with an old POS system that doesn’t accept chip cards yet, you are not operating with one of the best POS systems available. Plus you are opening your business up to fraud.
Does your POS system currently only accept magstripe credit cards? Then your system is too old. Today the vast majority of people carry EMV chip credit cards, which offer much more protection against fraud then magstripe cards. At the end of 2015 statistics show that more than 50 percent of people have EMV chip cards, which is up nearly 15 percent from the beginning of the year. Also, the Payments Security Task Force has indicated they expect at least 98 percent of cards to have EMV chips by the year 2017. Your business needs to be ready.
Protecting Your Company From Fraud
The fact remains that even though most cards will be chip enabled, that isn’t the sole reason you should update your POS system. Non EMV-compliant systems also leave you open to fraud. In fact, beginning on October 1, 2015 there was a shift in liability. This means that if your business hasn’t upgraded to one of the best POS systems with EMV chip capabilities, your business can be held liable for fraudulent charges. For this reason it is imperative that you begin accepting EMV chip cards as soon as possible to protect your business from lawsuits.
Despite all this information why have so many businesses been slow to adopt the EMV POS systems? This is due to the fact that many EMV-capable POS systems are expensive and time-consuming to set up.
Other Options
When making the switch to a new POS system, you need to ensure that it accepts mobile payments, such as Android Pay, Samsung Pay or Apple Pay. These “contactless” payment forms (otherwise known as NFC payments) are equal to EMV in terms of security, but are far more convenient. With these transactions everything takes place using a mobile devise, such as a cell phone or tablet. This means the transaction can take place immediately, while EMV transactions are usually slow to process and can take significantly longer than magstripe credit cards.
The bottom line is that you need to upgrade your business’s POS system to one of the best POS systems currently available. This will protect your business from fraud and from liability.