Study: More than Half of US POS Terminals Will Be Chip-Equipped by Year-End

About 59 percent of point of sale terminals in the US will be chip-enabled by the end of the year, according to an Aite Group report that looked into the POS evolution in the country.

Findings of the study, EMVelocity: Outlook for POS Re-terminalization and Mobile Payments, aims to help guide the payment industry and speed up EMV migration in the US.

According to the report, two-thirds of small- to mid-sized US retailers are aware of the EMV standard. While this represents an improvement, a significant awareness gap still remains for a third of the merchants who are unaware of the chip migration, the study noted.

The research also found that almost all large merchants have either started or completed chip migration. A large percentage of small- to mid-sized retailers, however, remain undecided or are not planning to convert their POS infrastructure in the future.

This emphasized the need for an aggressive awareness campaign on chip migration among small businesses, the report said.

While the research found an improvement in implementation rate, concerns still remain on chip migration awareness among smaller merchants, as well as the likelihood that mid-sized merchants will be able to meet the October 2015 deadline.

The report also warned that those who delay their EMV chip migration will be exposed to become victim to counterfeit credit card fraud losses, which is estimated to be $1.1 billion.

“It’s good news that the pace of implementation has picked up, but when the liability shift occurs, nearly half of all merchants will now be vulnerable to counterfeit card fraud, and the liability will be on them,” said Thad Peterson, senior analyst with Aite Group.