EMV: What It Is and What It’s Not

U.S. EMV is coming. Are you prepared? In the simplest terms, EMV is a special chip embedded on a credit or debit card that helps to prevent card-present fraud. The EMV chip prevents counterfeiting, skimming, and the use of lost or stolen credit or debit cards. The specification for EMV chips was first created in 1994 by the credit card brands Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) and is now owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay, and Visa. For more than two decades, EMV chip cards have been in use in every major market in the world – except the U.S.

What It Is:
More specifically, EMV defines how a payment terminal interacts with a chip card. The EMV chip, which is similar to a cell phone SIM card, is embedded on a credit card. When properly implemented, the EMV card will authenticate each transaction, preventing card-present fraud. In the U.S., each credit card brand has developed its own chip-functionality specifications and theoretically, for the convenience of both consumers and merchants, U.S. EMV chip cards will retain a magnetic stripe for a few years until EMV adoption is 100%. But note, even in areas where EMV has been implemented for years, not a single EMV-compliant country has reached 100% adoption.

While most global markets have required that EMV cards be issued with PINs (known as chip and PIN), the U.S. market is unregulated and the credit card issuers may adopt signature verification at the point of sale, known as chip and signature, instead of a PIN. This has benefits in terms of not requiring consumers to memorize another PIN and not requiring PIN devices at restaurants, but it also has major drawbacks, namely that a PIN is a much more secure verification of a cardholder than a signature.

However, the largest benefit of EMV is in its ability to allow an EMV-capable device to write a security code to an EMV chip whenever a transaction is completed. This technology allows for any unusual activity in the card’s card-present transaction history to disable the card, which will prevent fraudulent card-present transactions from taking place. Another benefit is that because EMV chips are used worldwide, issuing EMV chip cards in the U.S. will allow for improved global credit card acceptance.

What It’s Not:
EMV is not a cure-all for security – Merchants will still need to foster daily security practices and implement layered security with technologies like our True P2PE™ and TrueTokenization® solutions to protect their environment from fraud and breaches.

EMV is not a new technology – EMV has been in use for more than 20 years and as of the end of 2013, according to EMVCo, more than 2 billion EMV cards were already in use worldwide prior to the start of U.S. EMV migration.

EMV is not a foolproof solution for preventing fraud – Has credit card fraud disappeared from those countries? Actually, no. Card-present fraud has been greatly reduced, but because EMV is not universally accepted and does not secure card-not-present fraud, EMV is no silver bullet for preventing fraud. In countries where EMV has been implemented, the frequency of card-not-present fraud has risen.

EMV is not a complete replacement for the magnetic stripe – Payments industry experts predict that the EMV migration in the U.S. won’t be completed until 2020. Even in areas where EMV has been implemented since 1994, there is still not 100% market saturation. This means that there are still many places where non-EMV cards are accepted.

EMV is not a method for preventing breaches – EMV is specifically a tool to help prevent card-present fraud. Most EMV-capable payment devices still output clear text data, which means that your environment is just as susceptible to breaches after implementing EMV – unless technologies like True P2PE and TrueTokenization are in use.

EMV is not a mandate – There is not a requirement that merchants become EMV compliant. Unlike the PCI DSS and PA-DSS, which are PCI requirements for merchants who want to accept credit and debit cards, the EMV specification is a capability for card acceptance recommended by the card brands. This recommendation involves a shift in liability that will make the “weak link in the EMV capability chain” liable for any fraudulent transactions that are not processed according to the EMV specification, meaning that instead of the banks being liable for instances of fraud, it may shift to the bank, processor, or merchant, if those organizations do not have EMV in place.

Shift4 Provides Security Beyond Compliance®
Shift4 supports EMV. And, combined with our True P2PE and TrueTokenization solutions, our merchant customers never store, process, or transmit payment card data from any entry point into their environment, reducing PCI scope and leaving nothing for hackers to steal. They Can’t Steal What You Don’t Have®.

Connect With Shift4

Check back for regular updates as we continue to prepare our merchant customers and business partners for the migration to U.S. EMV. And, if you have any questions, contact Shift4 today.

Shift4 Makes EMV Easy for Merchants

Shift4 makes getting ready for U.S. EMV easy for merchants. Here’s how:

Shift4’s support for EMV is complemented by our True P2PE™ (point-to-point encryption) and TrueTokenization^® solutions, ensuring our merchant customers get the strongest payment data security available.
Merchants using DOLLARS ON THE NET can choose from premier payment devices that are both EMV capable and that come with Shift4’s encryption keys for True P2PE already injected.
Since Shift4 is completely bank and processor neutral, merchants can quickly and safely switch banks or processors as needed.
Shift4 features 350+ integrations with the leading POS and PMS solutions, so merchants can be assured that their POS or PMS will be supported to accept EMV transactions.

Are You Ready for EMV?

Check for regular updates on our EMV microsite. For more detailed information, contact Shift4 today.

Shift4 Makes EMV Easy for ISVs

Shift4 makes getting ready for U.S. EMV easy for ISVs with a simple certification for EMV. Here’s how:

Shift4’s Universal Transaction Gateway^® (UTG^®) controls the payment devices connected to it, so ISVs who are currently certified with Shift4 for debit will be able to offer U.S. EMV without making any significant changes to their existing software.
Because of the UTG’s device control, ISVs certified with Shift4 will automatically receive EMV certifications for each device and processor we support, so there is no need for them to do a separate certification for each device. This saves ISVs about six months of development time (approximately $250,000 or more) plus certification fees (which can vary from $4,000 to $15,000 per pass) for each device and processor.
The UTG also offers no-cost, no-hassle system updates, including updates to stay compliant with the industry’s regulations, resulting in approximately $100,000 cost savings or more in ongoing development costs.
In Canada – and now in the U.S. – Shift4’s PA-DSS-validated UTG stands in the place of the POS or PMS solution in the certification process as the payment application of record. This means ISVs can focus their time and money (and development cycles) on other features.
Our full suite of technologies allows vendors to often entirely remove their application from PCI DSS scope – meaning costly PA-DSS validations may no longer be required.

Are You Certified With Shift4 for EMV?

Contact Shift4 today to ensure you are certified with Shift4 for U.S. EMV and check our EMV microsite for regular updates.

Shift4 Makes EMV Easy for Payment Device Manufacturers

Shift4 makes getting ready for U.S. EMV easy for payment device manufacturers. Here’s how:

Because Shift4’s integrations to the various POS and PMS solutions allow us to stand in for them as the payment application of record, we have the ability to also stand in for the POS and PMS solution in EMV certifications. This means that after we’ve certified a device to a given processor, it is certified no matter which POS or PMS solution a merchant uses (so long as they are integrated to DOLLARS ON THE NET). This can save payment device manufacturers months of work and tens of thousands of dollars. Also, it gets certified devices to market faster.
Shift4 satisfies the 600+ flows required by the processors for EMV certification with a simplified, “one-and-done” approach. When device manufacturers certify a device with us – once – they’re good to go.
Certifying a payment device with Shift4 will increase exposure to merchants across every industry in North America. We work with more than 24,000 merchants across over 100,000 locations throughout the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean.
Shift4 provides payment device manufacturers with freedom for innovation when adding new features and capabilities. Because our unique technologies allow us to stand in for POS and PMS solutions and control the payment devices, all of our integrated POS and PMS solutions will support new device upgrades with no development required from the POS or PMS solution vendor, so long as Shift4 supports the new features. This means innovations can reach more locations, more quickly.

Are Your Payment Devices Certified With Shift4 for EMV?

Contact Shift4 today to ensure your payment device is certified with Shift4 for U.S. EMV. And, check our EMV microsite for regular updates as we continue to prepare our merchant customers and business partners for the migration to U.S. EMV.

Shift4 Makes EMV Easy for Processors

Shift4 makes getting ready for U.S. EMV easy for processors. Here’s how:

Shift4 will do the legwork of certifying payment devices and ISVs for EMV so processors won’t have to, saving you time and money. This means that if you certify with Shift4, we will help you reach tens of thousands of merchants who are looking for an EMV-ready solution that works with their POS or PMS solution. (We can also make it simple for merchants to switch to EMV-ready processors who have certified with Shift4.)
Because Shift4 replaces the POS or PMS solution as the payment application of record, a certification to us gives a processor access to our full network of integrated POS and PMS solutions (350+ and growing), payment devices from all the leading manufacturers, and merchants who are looking for a certified, secure EMV solution.

Are You Ready for EMV?

Processors, make sure you put Shift4 at the top of your list for EMV certification. Certifying Shift4 for EMV will save you time and money on EMV certifications and help connect you to Shift4’s integration partners and merchant customers. Contact Shift4 today.

Shift4 Makes EMV Easy for the Credit Card Brands

Shift4 makes the process of preparing for U.S. EMV easier for the credit card brands. Here’s how:

If card brands (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, etc.) encourage their vendors to partner with a payment gateway like Shift4’s, it will help to get the U.S. market ready for EMV faster. This is because Shift4 provides processors and payment device manufacturers the help that they need to prepare for EMV and connects them with merchants who desire EMV readiness, as well as the best payment and security solutions.
We understand that EMVCo wants global interoperability of chip-based payment cards. Shift4 offers the best solution since we are proudly bank and processor neutral and are dedicated to reducing the complexities of the U.S. EMV migration for everyone involved.

Connect With Shift4

Check our EMV microsite for regular updates as we continue to prepare our merchant customers and business partners for the migration to U.S. EMV. And, if you have any questions, you can contact Shift4 today.