Mobile payments’ rise could drive EMV usage

With the introduction of Apple Pay and other mobile wallets, consumers are starting to make mobile payments more frequently and the trend is catching the attention of small businesses, says Javelin.

Among small and micro merchants, 36% said they would be motivated to upgrade their existing point-of-sale terminals to accept EMV if new systems would also facilitate acceptance of mobile payments.

Small merchants are even more willing to upgrade their terminals; 45% indicated they would be motivated to update their current POS stations if their new systems would enable them to accept mobile wallets like Apple Pay or Google Wallet.

“Many small and micro businesses depend on POS transactions for their livelihood, but only one in three claims to have knowledge of EMV,” says Michael Moeser, director of Payments at Javelin. In the absence of better awareness, Moeser added, “small businesses will be the weakest link in the EMV chain and will bear a significant portion of today’s counterfeit card fraud costs, which could cause some to go out of business.”

As the EMV chip card replaces the magnetic stripe many consumers will be reaching for their new cards at the point of sale, Javelin says. Unfortunately, deterred by equipment costs, small and micro businesses have avoided upgrading their terminals. Because of the upcoming fraud liability shift in October, failure to upgrade will leave these businesses vulnerable to fraud costs.