Sunday, March 15, 2020

EMV Technology What Small Merchants Need to Know

EMV Technology What Small Merchants Need to Know Credit Hamik/Shutterstock Overthe last few years,credit card databreachesat chain storeshave exposedthousands of customersto hackers looking tomake a quick profit off their victimsinformation.In an effort topreventsuchsecurityviolations,merchants have beenurgedto accept EMV chip cardssince the fall of 2015orelsebearthecostof any ensuing fraudulentactivity.CreditCards.comreports thatthis initiative has resulted in855millionchip cards issued to American consumers, representing 85 percent of credit cards and 60 percent of debit cards issued by the end of July 2017.Thoughthenumber of geschftslebenes accepting chip-based credit and debit cardscontinuesto grow,somegeschftliczu sich umganges,including manysmall merchants,are totentotenleise hesitantabout adopting thistechnology.To help you better understandthe current state ofEMVand what it means for your businessmoving forwardheresan overview ofitsstandards and e xpert advice for small business owners.What is EMV?EMV, whichis named after its original developers (Europay, MasterCard and Visa), is a global credit card standard that enhances the security of in-person card transactions.EMV technology allows sensitive cardholder data to be stored in a chip, rather than in the magnetic stripe found ontraditionalpayment cards.Since individual organizations can only do so much tostopcybercriminals, the credit card payments industry instituted EMV policies to fight credit card fraud. The governmentalso stepped in to lead a nationwide effort to better protect consumers. In October 2014, President Obama issued an executive order to implement enhanced security measures for consumer finances. Part of this order, which is detailed in a?White House fact sheet, requiredpayment card issuers to embed cards with secure EMV microchip technology by October 2015.The technology has been around for about two decades and is used in much of the world, but the chip-en abled cards have only really caught on in the U.S. over the past few years,saidMikeBlang, senior vice president of sales and absatzwirtschaft atWind River Financial, a merchant account provider.How EMV worksEMV technology is very simple on the customers end. Instead of swiping the magnetic strip of a credit card,you dipone end of the cardinto the EMV reader so it can scan the chip.For EMV technology to work, the point-of-sale (POS) system where the card is used must be equipped to read and communicate withthe microchip.At each transaction,themicrochip creates a unique code that cant be used again.This is very different for the traditionalmagnetic stripe card,whose datacan be easily copied by an inexpensive card-reading device and reproduced in counterfeit cards.EMV cards provide an additional layer of security by requiring a PIN input instead of a signature when authenticating purchases, said Dax Dasilva, founder and CEO ofPOSsystem provider?Lightspeed.Understanding theliability shi ftThe largest card issuers, including MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover,announced that merchants and issuers who did not untersttzung chip technology by October 2015 would be held liable for anycounterfeitfraud.However, the migration to EMV chip technology welches not a mandate,saidBlang.As a result, many small businessesavoidedmaking the transition. In fact, accordingto a?recentManta surveyof more than 2,000 small business owners,56percent of therespondents said they did not accept EMV chip cards.Many of the business owners we work with are unaware of this risk of not accepting EMV,said Mark Guagenti,website technology coordinator and marketing assistant forTidal Commerce, a payment processing company. Guagentis experience is not unique,asdemonstrated by the65 percent ofMantarespondentswhoexpressed being unfamiliar with the fraud liability shift for EMVcredit cardsand the34 percentwhodidnt know what EMV technologyisor how it may impact their business.There are nuances ,but the general idea is that in the past,the card issuer held counterfeit fraud liability,explainedBlang.After Oct. 1, 2015, the entity that had invested least in chip technology,whether itsthe merchant or the card issuer, holds the fraud liability going forward.For example,if a customer has a chip cardbut the merchant does not have a terminalthat is certified for chip card acceptance, then the cost of anyfraudulent transactionwillbe that merchantsresponsibility.Some merchants didnt know their level of counterfeit fraud liability since, in the past, issuers simply absorbed the loss,saidBlang.Challenges of switching to EMVA lack of understanding of the liability shift isonly one of the reasonssomemerchants have delayed implementation of EMV technology. Some businessesare reluctant to take ontheupfront investmentfornew hardware and software upgrades.Many business owners fear that the cost to upgrade to an EMV terminal is steep,said Guagenti. This can be the case especially forrestaur antsorbusinesseswith multiple locations,he added.Getting the appropriate certificationsin a timely fashion has been anotherchallengeforbusiness owners, even thosecommitted to the conversion process. In addition to adopting new software so they can accept EMV, merchantsand their newly EMV-compliant terminals must undergo a certification process.Many software providers underestimated the complexity and time of getting certifications completed,saidBlang.In some environments using integrated point-of-salesystems, the software needed to process chip transactions was not certified bythe date of the liability shift.Thisputs merchants in the precarious position ofhaving their new terminalsset up and ready to gobut still waiting to be certified, even though they are already being held accountable for any fraud that occurs with customerswhohave EMV chip cards.Thoughitsa frustratingsituation,Blangremainsoptimisticabout the overall impact EMV will have on the marketplaceandreminds merchants tha tevery day,more and more providers are being certified and rolling out EMV to thosewhowant it.In fact,the Manta survey reportsthat77 percentof small business owners who havemovedto EMV technology saidthe transitionwent smoothly.According toBlang, the U.S. is largerand morecomplexthan any otherpayment card marketin the world.This, combined with what was arguably a shorter migration timeframe, may lead one to believe that what was achieved was actually nothing short of moving mountains,he said.Perks ofEMVThe benefits of EMV technologyhave not goneunnoticed.Fraud reduction is the biggest payoff.The level of success is subjective, but some industry statistics indicate that counterfeit payment card fraud is already down byup to 40 percent,saidBlang.MasterCardreportedthat fraud decreased by 60 percent in terms of dollars among its top five EMV-compliant merchants,according toPYMNTS.There are many otherbenefits business owners?shouldconsider when upgrading to EMV.According to Guagenti, the newEMV-compliantterminals provide endless add-ons and support mobile purchases with Apple Pay and Android Pay. Guagentialso pointedout thatEMV technology provides pay-at-table and pay-in-aisle options,which allow customers to pay where they are, without their credit card everleaving their hand.Todays technology is?making it even easier to integrate systems into legacy POS,and stand-alone?systems are comparable to older machines,said Guagenti.Your new machines will provide?you with a better customer experience and increased protections.Customers arealso beginning toappreciateEMV.According to a surveyof 2,000 U.S. adults bypersonal finance websiteNerdWallet,78percentof respondentssaid they like EMV cards,with 47 percent believingthe cards make transactions more secure, and 48 percent concludingits their preferred way to pay at the store.AccommodatingcustomerswithoutEMV cardsNot allcardholders have receivedupdated, EMV-enabled versions of their credit cards. This isnt something merchan ts have to worry about, as long as they have already made the switchto EMV technology.EMV-compatible terminals and machines are also set up so they can swipe traditional magnet stripe cards,saidSuneeraMadhani,founder andCEO of?Fattmerchant, a credit card processing solutions provider.So,if a consumer walks into the business without an EMV card,they will still be able to process the transaction.However, the business will not be responsible for fraud-related losses from those swiped transactions.If a business has implemented the technologybut customers dont have a chip card, the liability burden remains with the banks,said Matt Schulz, senior industry analyst at?CreditCards.com.Generally speaking, the only case in which the liability burden shifts is when a credit card holder has a chip card but the merchant doesnt have the technology to accept the chip card.MovingforwardIf a business hasnt upgraded to EMV technologythey should make plans to do so as soon as possible,Schulz advised.Wh ile it is definitely expensive to make these upgrades, the reality is that the merchantrisks facing far greater costs if they end up getting stuck with the bill for future credit card losses.Switching to EMV will mean adding new in-store payment technology and internal payment-processing systems all while complying with new liability rules, but its a crucial investment,addedDasilva.Although EMV technology is a strongdeterrentto fraudulent activity, itcannotprotect consumers from all data breaches. Card-not-present fraud, which involves purchasesmade online, by phone or via mail order, is on the rise and will remaina problem for years to come.But regardless of what new challengesmay be on the horizon,EMV technology is already the standard around the world andshapingthe future of payment processing.EMV is not a technology trend that will fall by the wayside,Madhanisaid.We are the last country to adopt this technology, and we will only continue to landsee the development of EMV and con tactless technologies.Additional reporting by Nicole Fallonand Sara Angeles.Some source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.Editors Note Looking for a credit card processor for your business? If youre looking for information to help you choose the one thats right for you, use the questionnaire below to have our sister site, BuyerZone, provide you with information from a variety of vendors for free Paula Fernandes Paula is a New Jersey-based writer with a bachelors degree in English and a masters degree in education. She spent nearly a decade working in education, primarily as the director of a colleges service-learning and community outreach center. Her prior experience includes stints in corporate communications, publishing, and public relations for nonprofits. Reach her at fernandes.writegmail.com. 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Tuesday, March 10, 2020

Making Room For This Guarantees Success, According To GEs Vice Chair

Making Room For This Guarantees Success, According To GEs Vice Chair Its no secret that the playing field for men and women in corporate America is far from level. Women are underrepresented at every level of the workforce and while most companies want to do the right thing and shift this dynamic, its tricky to know what steps to take in order to effect real change. Thats why Fairygodboss convened its first-ever Galvanize Summit on Nov. 1 and 2, where the leaders of Fortune 500 companies womens resource groups gathered to share ideas and best practices. GEs Vice Chair Beth Comstock, who was interviewed by Deputy Digital Editor of Fortune Magazine Kristen Bellstrom, shared her insight with the crowd Change is hard, she said, because you have to stop doing what youre doing and do something new. You have to binnensee some incentive and reward in doing it.She said that while disrupting routines can be a constant challenge, shes proud of the progression GE has made in making its workforc e more diverse. Weve become more tolerant of difference, and I think that has made us more innovative, she told the audience. While the 125-year-old company has a rich history, its always looking toward the future and raising the bar. Earlier this year, for instance, GE announced that by 2020, it hopes to have 20,000 women in STEM roles, as well as 5050 female/male representation in each of its technical entry-level programs.Still, Comstock stressed that its not enough. She said that even though GE is working hard to recruit women out of college and get them into women-focused education and training programs, as women progress in their career, we dont have the numbers we should. All of us know we could be better we just havent cracked the code. Comstock added that focusing on both the short term and long term can be very difficult so its important to make long-term goals a priority. She offered some practical advice for company leaders who are having trouble implementing change, ex plaining that shes a big proponent of bringing in outside influences and challenging the current mindset. You have to make room for that in your own brain, she said. Im big on testing, piloting, and giving people permission to test. For those who are hesitant to embrace the fail fast, fail often mentality, Comstock had some simple advice No one likes to fail. But test things earlier do it in a smaller way. That way, failures are smaller. Reduce the definition of where you want to fail.When Bellstrom broached the subject of sexual harassment, Comstock said she feels encouraged and takes comfort in the fact that people are coming out and speaking up about their experiences. She and Bellstrom agreed that perhaps the only positive aspect of the recent new stories is the conversations that have resulted. You need to have the discussion, Comstock said. You need to start with having the conversations and say, what are we going to do to change our behavior? She added that for this issue in particular, womens networks can be a particularly powerful resource because women might feel more comfortable speaking up in a women-focused space than they would approaching HR.Comstock also emphasized the role that mentors and sponsors can play in advancing women in the workplace. She shared a personal anecdote to illustrate what thats looked like for her Ive really struggled with confidence, she revealed. Im introverted by nature Im shy. Ive had people call me out on it. Jeff Immelt GEs Chairman and CEO has had to tell me, you need to speak up. Youre here because I want your opinion. Im fortunate to have people like that call me out in a safe space. Comstock added that shes a big fan of networks and gave a shout out to GEs womens network, which has offered women a space to lead when they might not otherwise assume a leadership position. She encouraged the crowd to utilize their womens networks People have your back and see you as a leader in a way that they maybe havent before.

Thursday, March 5, 2020

The Best System You Need to Be Using for Writing Center Notre Dame Resume Grad Uncovered

The Best System You Need to Be Using for Writing Center Notre Dame Resume Grad Uncovered Definitions of Writing Center Notre Dame Resume Grad For instance, if the listing states the provider is seeking a candidate whos tech-savvy, you might have a section called Technological Skills. Writing consultants are content to assist with grammatical problems, but they arent proofreaders or editors. Education is among a couple essential sections employers search for on resumes. Resumes ought to be brieftypically a couple of pages. You have to create a resume that reassures the reader youre a professional, dependable person along with all the skills essential to find the business done. The mora youre able to create interest all around your work experience, the better. Detecting a job is not simple, which explains why our Student Job Search can assist you in finding work outside your house country. The absolute most important consideration to keep in mind while you document your educa tion is honesty. Unfortunately, qualitt school admissions statistics have a tendency to be harder to find than undergrad acceptance prices. Grad Life supplies a wealth of resources for active graduate students to get the most out of their time in graduate school. If admitted to Notre Dame, youd be advised to schliff the essential courses at a nearby college during the spring and summer. Unlike undergrad prices, however, grad school acceptance prices are usually calculated for certain programs or departments andnot for entire universities. If you know a possible employer will want to realize that you have the proper credentials before considering your other experience, place your education on top of the webpage just below your contact info and skilled summary. The writing consultant might not be in a position to read your whole draft, so please indicate which sections to concentrate on during your appointment. Write each section and return and see how much you are able to c ut or shorten it. It is possible to also place either the work title or the company name in the very first line based on whether you wish to emphasize the position or the business. Choosing Good Writing Center Notre Dame Resume Grad In that case, then Restrictive Early Action is most likely the proper route for you. Its possible to take action to raise the section with certifications or other expert development achievements. The next thing to do is to seek out a program. Include an Education section to the peak of your resume. Then, its your obligation to promptly send the essential documentation. In the event the web isnt providing you the help you require, call or email your schools. Therefore you wish to be sure youre sending a professional, responsible message. Unlike undergrad acceptance prices, grad school acceptance prices are somewhat hard to find online. Many schools utilize different GPA scales and computation procedures, therefore its tough to offer standardi zed information regarding Grade Point Averages. For placement on your resume, think of where youre in your career and that which you wish to emphasize. In addition, M.F.A. programs are especially cutthroat. There are a few professions like finance or healthcare where specific certifications or degrees are important to getting the job. Therefore, if you think you have the skills to have a position, you will want to convince the employer, even in the event that you havent held a position identical to the one advertised. Take time to investigate the school or company that youre applying to. The hiring company wont only need to know that youre a skilled candidate, but you will excel in the role and be a superior fit for the position.