TAMPA, Fla.—Credit unions that are part of CSCU just received $11.1 million reasons to get moving on EMV conversions.
CSCU Sunday announced that it plans to cover the cost of the EMV/chip enablement phase for its 2,300 member credit unions. The move comes as the October 2015 Visa and MasterCard liability shift deadline draws closer, and debate continues over how many CUs will have EMV in place by the fall.
Calling it the "biggest thing" CSCU has ever done, CSCU President Robert Hackney said the “significant” investment will help mitigate CSCU members’ financial impact and ease their transition into EMV-enabled cards.
“By combining the recently announced FIS chip card mass enablement program with discounts negotiated with longtime CSCU and credit union partner FIS, we will be saving our members in excess of $11 million,” said Hackney. “We are excited to provide a comprehensive solution to enable our member credit unions to issue EMV cards.”
Hackney told CUToday.info that CSCU has had this investment on its minds for years, and is happy that the money the company was able to set aside, and the planning, are “paying off. This is a great demonstration of returning value to our credit unions for their membership in CSCU.”
Hackney acknowledged that not all credit unions are prepared to make the switch to EMV, and that some, especially smaller shops, may need some assistance. “Those are the ones that need a little help—we need to get them information, but we also need to say now is the time to move, come with us.”
The program will convert thousands of CUs to EMV at once.
“By us covering all the enablement fees, all of the BINs of our CUs that are part of this program will be implemented, certified and enabled on the same day,” said Hackney.
Those CUs that choose to opt out of the program may face a wait to convert, when they decide to make the move. Payments analysts have stated that the EMV conversion lines at payments processors are getting long.
“If a credit union opts out of the mass enablement, they will go through customer enablement—which means when the processors get to them,” said Hackney.
Along with the significant financial funding, CSCU will continue to provide guidance to its member credit unions through the enablement and issuance of EMV cards as the Oct. 1 liability shift date approaches.
“The liability shift date is less than seven months away,” says Tom Davis, CSCU CTO overseeing emerging payments. “By facilitating the timely adoption of EMV enablement for our members, those credit unions can now begin to focus time and energy on new fraud prevention technologies such as tokenization and other emerging payments.”