Time Flies
It has been full year since the EMV liability shift has taken place. While quite a few retail merchants across industries have upgraded equipment to accept chip cards, the petroleum industry is lagging behind with a 12 month cushion before the EMV software deadline at the pumps. Between costs for replacing hardware and software upgrades that are still being developed, it’s likely we will see a slow adoption rate for EMV software updates in the petroleum market.
Looking to gas stations we can find more confusion to an already slow uptake. Although the liability shift has already taken place for all inside store sales, many are facing problems that lie within the site controller. Some of the most common POS systems found in gas stations that process payments for both outside and inside sales do not have an EMV software solution yet. First Data’s Buypass platform is currently in Beta testing for Verifone’s EMV software solution and Buypass is hopeful the software upgrade will be available to the petroleum market shortly, but no timetable has been released by First Data. Buypass was recently certified with Gilbarco’s EMV software solution and that EMV software upgrade is now available for all Passport POS systems. Is your head spinning about all of this? Don’t worry, we can help. Give us a call at at 724-941-9860 or toll free at 877-941-9860, and we will help you navigate all of these changes!
In addition, there are cost effective solutions that can run alongside your current POS device (stand-alone terminals) that can accept chip cards for inside c-store transactions if you are not ready to upgrade. We can help assist you with implementing these solutions.
For Truck Stops, Comdata has recently released an EMV software upgrade for Trendar, or Smartdesq, POS systems that is certified on the Buypass platform. Why is this important? First, you will no longer need a stand-alone terminal to accept the chip cards for in-store transactions. Secondly, the liability for fraudulent cards is now shifted away from you and onto the card issuing banks.
Don’t put off until tomorrow…
Change is never easy and when you factor in the cost of upgrading to EMV you’ll want to dig your heels in even more and hang on to your current system. Tempting as it is to wait until the last few weeks before the deadline to start the process, we suggest that you start planning as soon as possible. Time is needed to order the equipment, install it, and test it. Your petroleum equipment vendor will be able to give you an idea of how long the process will take and can best advise on when to get started.
What you can do today
Although we have seen merchants start to adopt EMV technology we are far from the finish line. At FFS we have a team ready to assist you with information about what you need to do to get prepared to accept EMV chip cards at your c-store. We’re here to share our knowledge and help make the process less confusing. Don’t hesitate to contact us at 724-941-9860 or toll free at 877-941-9860. Remember, time flies, so don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today!
