Large Number of Firms Not Concerned About EMV Liability Shift Date

It would be easy to think that most companies that handled credit cards out there are at least somewhat concerned about the upcoming October deadline to make the move to the Europay, MasterCard and Visa (EMV) system, or face stiff new liability potential.

However, a new report from Randstad Technologies suggests that the urgency that might have been thought to be universal was anything but.

The Randstad Technologies report noted that 42 percent of respondents surveyed across a wide range of industries said that there was either no progress made toward EMV in the United States, or that the respondents were unaware of any progress made. Indeed, 58 percent of firms regarded the liability shift deadline as having little to no impact on the overall bottom line.

Further, the study also revealed that, for those firms that did have more invested in the matter, a lack of available time and access to the necessary technology to affect the change to EMV were the biggest factors for why such changes haven’t yet come to pass.

Fully 55 percent of respondents noted that the upcoming deadline for liability-October 1, currently-should be delayed to give the necessary time to make changes.

Randstad Technologies’ solutions director Dick Mitchell was taken aback by the results, noting that he was “surprised” that there was “…such a disconnect between companies’ seriousness about the EMV transition and their actions to make it happen.”

Mitchell’s surprise is actually quite rational. The Randstad study is focused on C-level or director-level staff, and deals with several industries that would be affected by the deadline. Firms were represented in several sectors, including retail, hospitality, restaurants, and even financial services.

It’s not like the Randstad study included heavy manufacturing concerns or agribusinesses; these are places that are often front-line retail, directly in contact with the customer and the customer’s credit cards. It would be one thing if Ford weren’t concerned about the EMV switch, however, Ford probably won’t be taking a credit card for a car more than a few times in a year, if that.

The chances of Ford being hit by EMV liability would be astronomically small. However, a retail operation for example, that’s hundreds, thousands or more transactions in a day-the chances of one of these going awry without EMV in place would be huge due to the sheer volume of these, and that could mean a big hit to the company’s fortunes.

It’s not clear why there’s such a seeming laxity involved here, but it is clear that many businesses aren’t in a hurry to make the jump to EMV. That could be a serious problem all told, but this could be a matter that will be right around the closer we get to October 1.