Retailers, Restaurants Outpace Other Merchant Types for Awareness of EMV And Liability

Retailers and restaurants have a higher degree of awareness about EMV and its accompanying liability shift than other merchant types, finds the Paychex Small Business Survey, released Tuesday.

In the survey of more than 760 small-business owners between Oct. 14 and Oct. 27, 69% of those in retail and restaurants combined are aware of the liability shift, which places the liability for counterfeit credit and debit card losses on merchants unprepared to accept EMV transactions, compared with 56% for merchants of all types.

Only 29% of all merchants said they were equipped to accept EMV chip cards, compared with 47% of those in the retail and restaurant categories. Other merchant types included in the survey were consumer goods and services, healthcare and other.

“The industries most likely to see the biggest impact are retail and restaurant/food and beverage,” David Durick, Paychex product marketing manager, tells Digital Transactions News via email. “Those are the two industries where in-person transactions occur most, hence they’re greatly impacted. Fraud tends to move to those businesses that don’t update to the latest technology and security, so it’s important for them to be aware of the liability for future fraudulent transactions they might incur.”

Paychex says of merchants that have installed EMV-compatible POS terminals, 55% say the transition was “easy” or “smooth.”

The survey, which also canvassed more than 960 consumers, found that 75% of them have been issued an EMV chip credit card, and 61% said they had made a purchase using that card.

Paychex Inc. is a Rochester, N.Y.-based payroll and tax-services provider.