Today we want to bring attention to a specific issue that could affect your business.
Lately, there have been a lot of credit card processors who have been charging fees for not having an EMV credit card terminal to accept payments.
The most recent one we’ve seen is a processor charging $299 yearly fee for not having an EMV terminal.
Which to put mildly, is a load of garbage.
There’s no justifiable reason for charging a merchant a fee for not having an EMV card reader, and we want to explain why this is nothing more than an excuse for credit card processors to line their pockets.
If you want to learn how to avoid paying $299 for not having an EMV terminal, stay tuned to the end!
As the U.S slowly adapts EMV, one of the common and significant questions is, who does it affect. Now, you might assume that a credit card processor is charging you a fee because, without EMV, you’re more of a financial risk and cost them extra money.
But that’s not true.
EMV doesn’t protect a processor from losing money in a case of fraud. In fact, unless it is written explicitly in a contract, a processor will never pay in a case of fraud. Unless you disappear into the night and are never found again.
But YOU, the merchant, will have to pay in a case of fraud. You’ll lose whatever the transaction amount was and have to pay a nominal chargeback fee as well.
Primarily EMV is designed to protect cardholders’ cards from being copied by a fraudster. More importantly, using an EMV terminal to accept payments only protects you and your customer from counterfeit cards, but only if it is a face to face transaction.
In a situation where you inserted a chip card into an EMV terminal, and it turned out to be fraud, you are not liable. You don’t lose out on the money from the transaction. Note, this is only if you inserted the chip card into your EMV credit card terminal.
The processor doesn’t have any direct costs or liability if you don’t use an EMV terminal because they are not at risk of losing money if the transaction is from a lost or stolen card. Charging you a fee is pointless except they make money.
EMV does help protect you from a small percentage of fraud but charging you a fee-only hurts your business. What’s more, not having an EMV terminal presents a negative image to your customers.They worry if their card information is safe, or if you’re to be trusted with their sensitive information. Those are the main reason you should adopt EMV, not because you’re being fined, but because it’s a value for your customers.
You could easily buy an EMV friendly terminal in your business for a couple of hundred dollars, but instead, a lot of processors are charging you a fee, and not helping you be any closer to accepting EMV.
Well, the easiest way is to buy an EMV compatible terminal, so you’re protected and not charged a fee. But more importantly, you should leave a merchant service provider who is going to charge you for something that doesn’t benefit you.
Right now, we are running a promotion for merchants who are with a processor that is charging them for using a non-EMV terminal. When you sign up with us for credit card processing services, we will give you a free EMV credit card terminal.
We will work with you to set up the right EMV solution for your unique situation.
