Newsroom

August 25, 2015

JAVELIN: Mobile payments can motivate EMV upgrades

A JAVELIN report assessing the readiness of small businesses to adapt to the new EMV chip cards indicates that the increase in mobile payments could help motivate businesses to upgrade to EMV technology – if mobile payment technology were included in the upgrades.

The "Small Business EMV Readiness" report notes that businesses are reluctant to pay for the upgraded terminals and may be vulnerable to increased fraudulent activity after the fraud liability shift in October.

However, 36 percent of small and micro merchant respondents told JAVELIN they would be motivated to upgrade their point-of-sale terminals if the upgrade also included mobile payment technology.

JAVELIN Director of Payments Michael Moeser said, "Many small and micro businesses are dependent on POS transactions for their livelihood, but only one in three claims to have knowledge of EMV. The government and banks need to do a better job of preparing business owners for the impact [of the] EMV fraud liability shift."

Moeser predicted small businesses could become a weak link and target for fraudsters if they do not upgrade.