Aloha POS and EMV

EMV - if you run a restaurant in the U.S., these are probably three letters that you've been hearing a lot about lately. Run a Google search on EMV and you'll come up with all kinds of technical explanations about EMV and you'll also find a lot of misinformation about EMV. As a leader in consumer transaction technologies, we want to arm you with the information that you need to easily get educated on this topic and be in control of when and how you want to implement EMV in your restaurant.

The first step in this process is tackling and dispelling some of the myths that exist around EMV. This is the first post in a series of blogs debunking EMV myths.

MYTH #1: Implementing EMV in your restaurant is required and will be enforced by a government regulation or security council.

If you are a U.S. restaurant operator, no government agency or industry association is requiring you to implement EMV. You will not be fined if you do not implement EMV by the often referred to "deadline date" of October 1, 2015. This is not a deadline. It is your decision whether or not you want to implement EMV - there is no requirement.

So, what does happen after October 1, 2015? Let's say that John Smith bought a stolen credit card off the Internet and decided to come have lunch in your restaurant. His bill totaled $15.00 and he paid using the counterfeit credit card. Jack, who is the real owner of the stolen credit card, notices the fraudulent charge and calls his bank (an Issuer) to get his money back. This is where the EMV liability shift comes in.

Today the Issuer would initiate a chargeback, which you can dispute if you accepted a swiped card and captured signature. After October 1, 2015 this will change. Between the bank that issued the credit card, your restaurant and the payment processor, whoever is least prepared to accept EMV-enabled payment cards is responsible for paying Jack back his $15.

The takeaway: Unlike PCI DSS compliance, EMV is not mandated or regulated by a government body or council. Presently, no one can threaten you with a fine for not implementing EMV-enabled payment devices by October 1.