Over the last few years, many credit and debit card issuers have added the EMV chip to their cards. These are the little golden spots on cards that look somewhat like mini circuit boards. Inside them, microprocessors are embedded that encrypt data and make it more secure during transactions. There are many upsides to enabling your point-of-sale (POS) equipment for reading these chips. Here are some of the main benefits:
Transactions Gain a New Layer of Protection
Use of the EMV chip cards thwarts the use of skimmers, which steal information from swiped credit cards. They also prevent other forms of “sniffing” credit card numbers and transaction information done with other methods. Many customers are wary of such risks thanks to extensive media coverage about such fraud. These people will be glad to be able to use their chip cards, and some may even shy away from doing business with you if you don’t have it.
You’ll Lower Your Legal Liability
If someone gets their data stolen and points at your company, you’ll want to be able to show that you took all reasonable steps to protect their information. This includes using an EMV-capable card reader.
Your Company Will Be Seen as More Up to Date
EMV chip card acceptance has now been around long enough that people are seeing it as the standard. If your store or other outlets still force everyone to swipe their cards, it’ll be seen as a bit behind the times. In some areas, customers may even comment to this effect. Make sure you give the impression of being fully ready for modern business by adding this basic upgrade to your POS systems.
To learn more about upgrading your system to read EMV chips, just contact us. We’ll be glad to explain the technology and give more details about what makes updating worthwhile.