LAS VEGAS—One big box retailer is predicting that EMV will create “anarchy” during the holiday shopping season, with confusion and long lines at the point of sale.
During the Money 20/20 payments conference in Las Vegas, John Drechny, a payments executive at Walmart, questioned the timing of the Oct. 1 EMV liability shift deadline, which he feels is going to lead to problems for retailers, especially on Back Friday.
Other payments experts have also shared concerns about how EMV may disrupt holiday shopping, emphasizing that how well retailers train cashiers on the new payment type, as well as issuers teaching cardholders to leave their chip plastic in the reader long enough to complete the transaction, will go a long way to preventing backed up checkout lines. But a concern, too, is seasonal cashiers—who may lack proper training—could exacerbate the problem.