Expert: What the EMV switch means for businesses, customers

Kristina: What does EMV mean for small business and retailers?

Seth Ruden, US. Senior Fraud Consultant of ACI Worldwide: EMV is a global change in POS behavior, which should increase the safety and security of checkout. Merchants who neglect this important update will put themselves at risk of hacking (skimming at the POS) and for direct fraud at the POS.

Kristina: What should consumers know about EMV?

Seth: Be ready for a change in behavior at point of sale, but that using a PIN is the safest way to use EMV… and that we are going to be using a world standard. When traveling abroad, no more swiping abroad.

Kristina: How will EMV affect e-commerce fraud and where will we likely see an uptick?

Seth: I’m not sold on this theory. Card present fraudsters won’t easily migrate to CNP transactions. I’m already seeing that card present fraudsters are finding new and innovative ways to maintain their schemes in the transition period.

Kristina: What are your top 3 tips for bankers/retailers to navigate through this change?

Seth: 1.Stress test systems at the EMV channel, be sure that all controls that are implemented are performing as expected.
2. Don’t scrimp on security controls, and avoid implementing stop-gap solutions, such as Static Data Authentication (SDA) which will be phased out in 2018, forcing security to be revisited shortly.
3. Prepare for merchants to be late to the game, and recognize that even though EMV is shifting the ultimate liability, fraud is the problem, and customer impact exists with every case.