Minimum EMV Requirements Outlined to Meet Oct. 1 Deadline
PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J. — As the Oct. 1 point-of-sale (POS) liability shift deadline approaches, the EMV Migration Forum created the EMV Minimum Requirements Matrix, an Excel spreadsheet retailers can download for help in developing strategies for implementation of EMV chip programs.
The primary goal of the matrix is to help stakeholders understand the minimum requirements of chip deployment for the payments networks reflected in the document.
On Oct. 1, convenience store retailers that do not upgrade their POS systems to EMV (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) readers could be held financially responsible for fraudulent transactions. At the present time, credit card issuers are liable for such fraud. C-store retailers are not required to upgrade their POS terminals to EMV readers, however.
"Many issuers and merchants have asked for information regarding minimum EMV requirements as a starting point for their chip deployments and as guidance for meeting the Oct. 1 fraud liability shift date," said Randy Vanderhoof, director of the Princeton Junction-based EMV Migration Forum. "This resource is another example of our EMV Migration Forum members coming together to provide sought-after chip implementation resources to the payments industry."
The matrix specifically focuses on the minimum card and terminal requirements for payment networks American Express, Armed Forces Financial Network, China UnionPay, Discover, Jeanie, MasterCard, NYCE, PULSE, STAR and Visa in the context of the U.S. market and fraud liability shift.
Similar EMV liability shifts are scheduled to take place in October 2016 for ATM transactions, and October 2017 for transactions taking place at the forecourt.
The EMV Migration Forum is made up of 175 member organizations including global payments networks, financial institutions, merchants, processors, acquirers, U.S. debit networks, industry associations and industry suppliers.
To download the EMV Minimum Requirements Matrix, click here.