https://squareup.com/townsquare/emv
Again, for this blog post, I am using Square’s resources in defining how and what certain financial transaction technologies, such as EMV, that are in place within small businesses.
EMV is a fairly new term that has been thrown around the business world. It stands for “Europay, MasterCard and Visa” and it “uses computer chips to authenticate (and secure) chip-card transactions” (Square).
Banks are migrating to EMV because they are able to encrypt bank information, making transaction-making much more secure. Originally, “if businesses ran a fradulent card, the banks would absorb the cost … [but now] if there is a fradulent card and the business isn’t set up with an EMV card reader, it’s possible that the banks are no longer liable” (Square). As Square and I anticipate, the lag in the EMV payments, which are significantly more noticeable than using the magnetic strip, will usher in a faster adoption of NFC payments which are contactless payments that are faster and just as secure.
I predict that most consumers will prefer to use NFC payments over EMV style payments in the near future, especially with the “instant gratification” of the future generations.
I agree that the added security provided by cards with EMV chips is beneficial to the industry, but I also feel that this technology will not last in the long run because the user experience is much too slow. When asked to insert a chip instead of sliding your card, the process takes noticeably longer and the sound of the card getting approved sounds much more like a denial. Nevertheless, with everything moving online, security with payments is becoming a much larger concern, so I also see technology like NFC becoming integrated into more mobile devices and being the true future of payment, secure, without losing speed and efficiency.