Chip card technology finally gains traction in US
Having belatedly debuted many years after Europe, Europay, MasterCard and Visa or EMV chip card technology is finally gaining traction in the US, according to the latest EMV Migration Tracker issued by CardFlight, a mobile point of sale (POS) technology provider.
In February this year 56% percent of cards in use in February contained EMV chips, up from 46% last October. American Express leads the way in EMV chip card usage, with over 88% of their cards containing EMV chips. California, Florida and Arizona lead the way in EMV issuance, with over 60% of cards in use in those states containing EMV chips.
“Some industry verticals see at least 75% of cards presented containing EMV chips, putting those merchants at highest risk for EMV-related chargebacks if they have not upgraded,” commented CardFlight.
While EMV chip card technology has been implemented in Europe and other parts of the world for more than a decade, the rollout of EMV in the US has speeded up more recently, with a liability shift introduced last October. Since October 1 2015, merchants who have not upgraded to accept EMV chip card transactions can become liable for counterfeit card fraud losses that occur at their stores with chip-enabled cards.
“Migrating to EMV chip card technology gives us a more secure system that will significantly reduce fraudulent charges on card present purchases,” said Derek Webster, chief executive officer (CEO) and founder of CardFlight. “The latest version of the Tracker shows that the adoption of EMV technology in the US is accelerating.”