For years now payments experts have been talking about the lack of EMV adoption. Their position has been that, until a major retailer invests in EMV, the U.S. market will be slow to adopt. I believe events occurring at the end of 2013 and the beginning of 2014 have provided the push the industry was looking for – advanced by major breaches with major U.S. retail brands.
Due to the fact I was personally impacted by the Target breach, I recently receive a letter stating their timing (2015) and investment ($100 million) regarding “chip-enabled” smart cards. This investment not only spurs issuers to provide new card products, but provides the needed push to begin the change in consumer behavior that will also be required to drive adoption.
“Target is committed to help drive an industry-wide move toward adopting chip-enabled smart cards that significantly enhance protection for card users. Since the data breach, we are accelerating our own $100 million investment to put chip-enabled technology in place. Our goal is to implement this technology in our stores and on our REDcards by early 2015, more than six months ahead of our previous plans.”
EVO Payments is Ahead of the Game
I’m happy to report that EVO Payments International has been investing in this strategy for many years now and will be the first international payment acquirer/processor to provide a single API supporting EMV requirements in Europe and N.America. We expect this API, delivered via www.evosnap.com, to be available before Target gets their new devices in market!
