What is it?
It’s that small, metallic square on the new credit cards – it’s a computer chip.
EMV originally stood for “Europay, Mastercard, and Visa”, the three companies which created the standard. EMV cards are smart cards which store their data on integrated circuit chips, in addition to magnetic stripes. These include cards that must be physically inserted into a reader, as well as contactless cards that can be read over a short distance using Near-Field Communication technology.
The magnetic stripes on traditional credit and debit cards store contain unchanging data. Whoever accesses that data gains the sensitive card and cardholder information necessary to make purchases. That makes traditional cards prime targets for counterfeiters.
If someone copies a mag stripe, they can easily replicate that data over and over again because it doesn’t change. Unlike magnetic-stripe cards, every time an EMV card is used for payment, the card chip creates a unique transaction code that cannot be used again.
How is an EMV card used to make a purchase?
Just like magnetic-stripe cards, EMV cards are processed for payment in two steps: card reading and transaction verification. When an EMV card is dipped, data flows between the card chip and the issuing financial institution to verify the card’s legitimacy and create the unique transaction data. For verification, either Chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature – is used ,depending on the card issuer. Eventually all cards will transition to a Chip-and-PIN verification. For the Chip-and-PIN cards, if a terminal doesn’t have the ability to accept a PIN, it will then step down to accepting a signature.
Liability for the costs of fraud after EMV cards are issued
If an in-store transaction is conducted using a counterfeit, stolen or otherwise compromised card, consumer losses from that transaction fall back on the payment processor or issuing bank, depending on the card’s terms and conditions.
In the near future the liability for card-present fraud will shift to whichever party is the least EMV-compliant in a fraudulent transaction. In a situation where the merchant has not changed its system to accept chip technology, the cost of the fraud will fall back on the merchant.
Contactless EMV
EMV cards can also support contactless card reading, also known as near field communication. Instead of dipping or swiping, NFC-equipped cards are tapped against a terminal scanner that can pick up the card data from the embedded computer chip.
Contactless transactions are more consumer-friendly because you just have to tap. When paying through a card reader that supports NFC technology customers will also be able to pay by tapping their mobile phones (mobile wallets) or wearable technology devices.
EMV timeline for Israel
February 2020 – All new credit cards are EMV cards that support contactless payment.
November 2020 – Transactions in all big companies are done through EMV and contactless payments for sales under 200 NIS
July 2021 – All transactions including online and phone are done through EMV technology
July 2022 – Transactions at gas stations are fully EMV
Technoso EMV support
Technoso has teamed up with Nayax to bring the new payment solutions to all the Blue PT terminals and payment booths. When paying for parking at a Blue PT parking lot, a user is able to pay with many different options. These options include EMV chip, Contactless, QR code, and mobile wallets. Currently, Technoso provides the only parking solution in Israel that supports EMV & Contactless payments. By installing a Blue PT system in a parking lot, the parking lot owner ensures that it is compliant with the new payment systems and provides users with the most user friendly payment options today.
