Missed The EMV Deadline? There’s A Protection Plan For That

It’s no secret that the shift to EMV may have left many a merchant unprepared (and, in some cases, unwilling) to meet the Oct. 1 deadline last week. But in the wake of that seismic change in the U.S. payments industry, one payments tech company is willing to back up those late to the party.

Sterling Payment Technologies has said that is offering a protection program to support small and midsized businesses that have yet to adopt EMV, wherein the payments company — traditionally tied to the hospitality, restaurant and retail sectors — will cover up to $2,000 in fraudulent charges for clients working toward compliance.

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Noting that after the shift many businesses face liability charges for purchases made with traditional “mag stripe” credit or debit cards that have been lost, stolen or counterfeited, especially with less than half of small businesses even aware of EMV, Sterling said its plan will apply to current and new clients across the U.S.

Clients eligible for the Sterling Payments plan will get the coverage as they work either with the company or with another authorized reseller to bring an EMV system in house. Those merchants who have been processing card-not-present transactions, ranging from mail order to Internet activity, are not affected, Sterling said.

In a statement accompanying the announcement, Paul Hunter, Sterling’s chief executive officer, stated that the company is “hoping the protection program prevents business owners from hastily adding EMV and ending up with a less-than-perfect solution for their business. By providing coverage past the deadline, we can help ensure that anyone unprepared is evaluating the best options, taking the right path to compliance and adding business intelligence.”

Sterling said that EMV initiatives can be simple, requiring only an upgrade of existing equipment to help read chip-enabled cards, or in the case of retailers and eateries, requiring more substantial infrastructure investment, which could range across payments, promotions, inventory and scheduling.

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