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What is EMV and What are The Security Benefits for your C-Store?

What is EMV and What are The Security Benefits for your C-Store?

EMV Cards, or “chip cards,” have been around for a little while now. Your c-store or gas station has no doubt already been fitted with new chip card readers, and your customers are increasingly presenting chip cards for payment.

EMV cards represent a new step in the fight against credit card fraud and identity theft. Unfortunately, the technology behind them can be confusing, and many stores and even customers aren’t quite sure how they’re supposed to help.

As a C-store owner, it is important to understand the basics of how this new technology benefits both you, as a merchant, as well as helps keep your customers’ data and transaction information safe and secure.

What Is EMV?

“EMV” stands for “Europay, MasterCard, and Visa,” which represent the three companies that originated the standard and helped implement it. While the concept has been around for a number of years in Europe, it was only in the early 2010’s that major credit card companies in the United States began migrating the standard over to the U.S.

Today, over 40% of all U.S. Consumers have at least one credit or debit card with EMV technology, and merchants are becoming increasingly compliant.

How Does It Work?

EMV cards utilize a complex transaction encryption method that makes them difficult to duplicate. Consider the magnetic strip on a traditional credit card. These strips store data that matches your account information. This information never changes. If, and when a card is copied, the duplicate card may be used as frequently as possible, typically until the cardholder realizes it.

EMV cards utilize a unique transaction code for every purchase. Because of this, they are difficult to clone or copy. The data within the chip is constantly changing, making isolating and copying your bank information a much more difficult process.

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Benefits – Merchant

As a merchant, providing more secure transactions for your customers is an important step in providing outstanding customer service. Beyond that, EMV cards lower the risk of transactional fraud, chargebacks, and other liabilities.

In addition, new regulations regarding fraud liability are going into effect. Under these new terms, incidents of card-present fraudulent transactions may put liability on the party that is least compliant with new EMV standards. This means that as a merchant, if you haven’t made the switch to EMV compliant readers you could be opening yourself up to increased liability under the new rules.

Benefit – Customer

Benefits to your C-store or gas station customer include increased protection from card fraud, as well as enhanced liability protection from unauthorized transactions. In a world with identity theft and credit card fraud on the rise, taking steps to fight this epidemic signals to your customers that you have their best interested in mind.

Protect Your Customer. Protect Your Business

Certainly no business owner wants their customers to be afraid to use their credit card in their store. As a C-store or gas station owner utilizing the latest management software, as well as the most advanced fraud prevention tools available, help provide a consistent and positive experience for your customers, day in and day out.

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