Breathe, It's Just EMV

EMV has most retailers extremely anxious about the holiday crowds, long lines, and longer checkout periods. No doubt that everyone has their own unique challenges adapting to the EMV liability shift, but you can still attain a proficient consumer and employee experience if you remember these key things about EMV.

Transactions Are Only Seven Seconds Longer: On average, when done properly EMV cards only take an extra seven seconds to process.In today’s society of instant gratification, seven seconds can seem like major lag time. While we have TV shows and mobile apps available instantaneously, waiting seven seconds won’t cause any of us to have a heart attack. Remind your consumers that this extra time is minuscule to the risk they are avoiding.

Security is the Reason for the Shift: With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, people forget to take precautions to protect their assets while shopping. There are approximately 27 fraud attempts for every 1,000 transactions. EMV aids to minimize that risk as soon as possible. The extra seven seconds it takes to process an EMV card saves consumers days in trying to reconcile fraud claims. As the business owner, you are shielded from EMV related chargebacks as well.

Be Good and Follow the Prompts: While we can humor in people’s inability to follow instructions in times of stress, it’s important that your employees ensure that people are following the prompts indicated by the terminal. Every terminal and card will differ in how the instructions are laid out. Some cards will require pin numbers, some won’t. It’s important to reassure that your consumers are following instructions or else seven seconds becomes an eternity.

Remember Just to Breathe: Everyone experiences the “Grinch-syndrome” at some point during the holiday season. Just remember that the transaction will take place and everyone will be off on their merry way. Give your customers something to smile about and give yourself a break for not being able to control the transaction time. Just breathe and provide the best experience you can. Your consumers will thank you and you’re sure to be on Santa’s nice list.

>>Find additional EMV resources here.