Everything a company owner needs to know about EMV fraud.

The payments revolution has arrived in Israel, and as of January 2019, any business that opens a new terminal in Israel must comply with the EMV standard. With the completion of the changeover process, Israel will join the ranks of countries around the world that provide the most advanced and secure payment mechanism. What are the benefits of the standard, and how can it affect and even help your business?

So, what precisely is the EMV standard, and how does it relate to credit credit card processing in my business?

EMV is an international standard developed by the three credit card firms Europay, MasterCard, and Visa to safeguard transactions made with credit cards equipped with an electronic chip. By identifying the customer with his secret code, the enhanced standard eliminates fraud and forgeries. During the transaction, the customer is required to validate the information and amount of the transaction by entering the credit card’s secret code on the clearing device. This is a technology that has been in use for several years in many nations throughout the world, including Europe and the United States, and numerous efforts have recently been made to bring Israel into this crucial sector.

As previously stated, the standard is planned to completely replace the technology in use in Israel today, which is based on reading the magnetic stripe by “ironing” the card, an ancient technology in comparison to sophisticated countries and regarded easy for counterfeiting and replication.

So, how will the EMV standard affect businesses that accept credit cards?

To make the business shift to the EMV standard, three changes are required. First, the credit cards of the customers must support the latest technology and contain an electronic chip. Indeed, all newly issued credit cards have been updated to this standard. The other two modifications are in hardware and software: business terminals and the software that connects to them must be standard-compliant.

EasyCard, Israel’s top credit credit card processing firm, anticipated the EMV standard and offers payment options that enable it. Easy Card is a one-stop shop for credit card credit card processing and charging, serving as both a technology provider and a hardware provider for payment systems, giving businesses peace of mind and financial security.

As previously stated, the first step in implementing the change for the business is to switch to an advanced clearing device capable of reading credit card information via the chip on the card, while typing a secret code, or by presenting the card using NFC technology (which enables contactless payment). The credit clearing system is purchased once for all payment positions in the business.

After the mechanisms are in place, the credit will be debited by entering the secret code while presenting it to the firm. Every transaction, whether physical (face-to-face), telephone, or online, the business owner must ensure that the customer’s personal code is provided.

It is important to note that, in order to provide an incentive for businesses to implement the new standard and install the required terminals, the Bank of Israel established a “damage shift mechanism,” which means that, in any case of payment using a smart debit card in a business where no terminal is installed in accordance with the standard, the payer will be responsible for returning to the customer the amount of the charge resulting from misuse, and he will be liable for any penalties. The mechanism’s goal is to guide the entire market in adopting the instruments required by the new standard.

It is also worth noting that a small firm whose debit card payment cycle in 2018 was less than five million NIS would be postponed until January 2020 in order to plan for the new method with its supplier and field service provider.

Finally, we must remember that, as with any new technology installation, the process of converting to the new standard takes time and demands patience and forbearance on the part of Israeli business owners. In the long run, this is another step toward a safe and simple purchase experience, similar to that found in other parts of the world. Furthermore, the advancement of technology allows for the introduction of new innovative technical trends, such as the usage of a digital wallet, making the future appear closer than ever.