BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Many businesses are not prepared for the upcoming Oct. 1 EMV liability shift deadline, according to a new report.
A study from Randstad Technologies reveals that a large portion of IT decision makers—those involved with deciding the technological state of a company—still have not made plans to change their card processing infrastructures.
The survey was designed to assess just how prepared American businesses are for the changes happening in October. The key change is that post deadline the cost for the fraud shifts to the weakest link in transaction. That means if the POS terminal is not EMV-enabled and the issuer’s card is, the retailer foots the fraud bill. Currently, credit card providers and processing companies are the ones held liable for unauthorized transactions, which protects business owners from potentially huge financial burdens.
Randstad Technologies found 66% of IT decision makers, including C-suite executives, do not believe that chip and signature cards provide enough security, and that PINs should be mandatory for card transactions. The survey also revealed 42% of decision makers have no plans for switching to EMV technology at this time.
“A majority of respondents indicated little concern for the magnitude of risk associated with missing the liability shift deadline,” said Bill Hardekopf, CEO of LowCards.com. “In fact, 58% of businesses said the liability risks to come after the deadline "will have limited or no impact on their company’s bottom line."
"Because fraud liability has traditionally fallen to credit card companies and banks, consumers have never borne the brunt, and thus aren’t demanding more secure payment technology," said Dick Mitchell, Randstad Technologies solutions director. "While businesses understand the importance of more secure payment technology, without this push from consumers, many merchants aren’t feeling the pressure to get all their affairs in order to meet the October deadline."