EMV: THE ANNIVERSARY
Credit card fraud and theft is a significant concern within the parking industry. Breaches occur relatively more often due to the nature of transactions made at most parking facilities. Most parking lots or garages use credit cards as the main form of payment where credit card fraud is on the rise especially in the United States. In this regard, EMV parking technology becomes crucial by providing more secure payment solutions for the parking industry. Learn more about Parking BOXX EMV solutions here.
Although, the introduction of EMV has dramatically changed the landscape of payment methods globally; the United States has been slow to embrace this shift in technology. EMV, an acronym for Europay, Mastercard and Visa, is a credit or debit card embedded with added security that requires the use of PIN code. EMV within the parking industry is also known as “chip and PIN” cards. EMV enabled parking solutions use a smart chip instead of magnetic stripe to hold the pertinent data required for transactions. EMV in parking provides a more secure alternative to cards with magnetic stripes - cards with magnetic stripes are easy to clone, therefore, more vulnerable to fraud.
The United States began its transition to EMV cards a year ago to provide consumers with more secure payment options in the wake of rising rates of credit card fraud. Almost one year later, the transition has faced its share of predicaments.
The implementation of EMV technology has been slower than anticipated. The Strawhecker Group (TSG), a management consulting company, recently released the results of the recent survey that approximated only 44% of US merchants have EMV terminals and that only 29% of the merchants with EMV terminals are able to accept EMV “chip & PIN” transactions
While the parking industry will benefit from the secure payment solutions provided by EMV parking technology, transitioning to this new technology will present a few challenges:
- Cost to upgrade or replace is high – most merchants will need to upgrade or replace their POS systems, and many small lot owners may not want to absorb the cost
of replacing their current systems to EMV. - Time – transaction time using EMV cards is more time consuming thanswiping magnetic stripe cards resulting in longer payment times.
- Testing and certification - terminals must pass extensive testing and certifications before they are EMV-ready.
Despite the “sluggish” transition of using EMV technology for the parking industry and other major industries across the United States, TSG predicts expected EMV acceptance will rise to +90% by the end of the first quarter of 2017. With the rise of EMV acceptance across the country, the parking industry can benefit from the increased security provided by EMV.
Topics: Parking Systems & Equipment
