Originally published on Pennsylvania Petroleum Association News –
Stations in Pennsylvania will have a busy period ahead of them as the EMV quickly approaches this month.
According to the Conexxus survey results, only 15 percent of fuel retailers have updated their pumps to support EMV. It indicated that 39 percent of stations will not upgrade by the deadline. With the short time frame between now and the deadline, the traditional industry certifications for EMV that take 6 months or more, places station owners at risk. But we have been working to help make stations aware of a more fast and affordable option to upgrade before the deadline – a universal, semi-integrated retrofit for your pump.
Retrofitting can be completed for half or even one-third of the average cost and time of a full pump replacement. One of the biggest concerns for station owners is closing for weeks to upgrade all of their pumps at once. A retrofit can allow you to upgrade one pump at a time without closing your doors. The right semi-integrated, retrofit solution that enables EMV-compliance at the pump can get the job done for you in a matter of hours through a pump-by-pump implementation process, so you don’t need to shut the station down.
New systems use the cloud to adhere to internal systems and interfaces with standard industry protocols. Deployment and industry strategy ensure a seamless transition. It minimizes downtime by phasing deployment while temporarily giving the option to run the old and new systems.
The scary part about not upgrading are the costs of noncompliance at the pump, which has resulted in more than $400 million in chargebacks in 2019 and as a result ruining brands reputations.
Today, the burden of chargebacks is placed on the financial institutions; however, station owners will be responsible for that financial burden in April. This year, the amount of fraud targeting outdoor fuel dispensers is expected to hit more than $450 million. It is easy to get cardholder data on-line and make a fake card. If you do not have an EMV reader, you will lose the chargeback request every time. Even if you have a video of them signing, the station owner will be liable with the new mandate.
These new EMV solutions also provide new technology, such as enhanced security (PCI and end-to-end encryption), QR code scanning, PIN-on-glass, EMV chip and PIN, and contactless payment via card tap or near field communication (NFC).
If you wait until the last minute, you may have a problem getting your solution implemented in time, which will put your business at risk.
If you have questions about upgrade options, you can reach our team at petrosales@soundpayments.com or call 844-319-5635.