Questions

1. What Is EMV?

2.  Who does EMV Impact? 

3.  Does EMV affect card-not-present businesses? 

4.  Is EMV an industry mandate? 

5.  Why is EMV technology recommended? 

6.  How does an EMV transaction work? 

7.  Why are EMV cards more secure than traditional magnetic-stripe cards? 

8.  How are magnetic-stripe cards handled? 

9.  What does the EMV fraud liability shift mean? 

10.  Does EMV prevent all payment fraud? 

11.  What happens if the chip cannot be read? 

12.  What does NFC-compatible mean? 

13.  What is the difference between EMV and contactless payments? 

14.  What is a hybrid EMV solution? 

15.  Will CSG Forte device support chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature EMV cards? 

16.  Which CSG Forte devices support EMV transactions? 

EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa. It is a global payment standard consisting of specifications designed to enhance card security and cardholder verification at the point of sale (POS). 

EMV uses chip-enabled payment cards and compatible terminals to authenticate chip-card transactions. In practical terms, EMV is a technical standard that ensures chip-enabled payment cards and payment terminals are interoperable worldwide. 

EMV specifications are managed, maintained, and enhanced by EMVCo, LLC. EMVCo is governed by representatives from the major global payment networks, including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and UnionPay. 

The EMV standard affects all stakeholders in the payments industry, including: 

• Consumers 
• Merchants
• Card-issuing financial institutions 
• Merchant acquirers 
• Payment processors 

Card issuers must replace traditional magnetic-stripe cards with chip-enabled cards. Consumers must activate their new cards and become familiar with the updated payment process. Acquirers and payment processors must support EMV by implementing compatible in-store technology, updating internal processing systems, and complying with revised liability rules. 

EMV primarily affects card-present transactions because these transactions involve interaction between the payment card and a terminal. Card-not-present transactions, including e-commerce transactions, do not involve card-terminal interaction and are therefore not directly affected by EMV. 

The EMV standard is not a government-enforced requirement or a universal payment-industry mandate. Instead, it is an industry-wide initiative intended to improve the security of face-to-face payment transactions and reduce fraud associated with counterfeit, lost, or stolen cards. 

The increase in large-scale data breaches and counterfeit-card fraud has made payment security a significant concern for consumers and merchants. EMV technology helps reduce fraud-related costs by making it more difficult for fraudsters to use counterfeit cards successfully.

Implementing EMV technology also helps merchants support current payment-security standards and reduce their exposure to counterfeit-card fraud liability. 

During an EMV transaction, the cardholder inserts or taps a chip-enabled card at an EMV-compatible payment terminal. The card and terminal communicate to authenticate the card and generate transaction-specific data. The transaction is then submitted to the payment processor and card issuer for authorization.

 For chip-and-signature transactions, the cardholder may be prompted to provide a signature after the card is inserted or tapped. Once the transaction is approved, the cardholder should remove the inserted card when prompted or wait for the terminal to confirm that the contactless transaction is complete. 

If a chip-enabled card is used at a terminal that does not support EMV, the transaction may be processed by magnetic stripe, depending on the card, terminal, and payment-network rules. These transactions may not receive the same counterfeit-fraud protections as fully enabled EMV transactions .

Traditional magnetic-stripe cards store sensitive cardholder information on the magnetic stripe. This information can be copied and used by fraudsters to create counterfeit cards or conduct unauthorized transactions. 

EMV cards contain an embedded chip that generates a unique transaction code for each payment. Because the code is unique and cannot be reused, it is significantly more difficult to counterfeit or replicate EMV transactions . 

Yes. Many payment terminals continue to support magnetic-stripe transactions; however, magnetic-stripe payments do not provide the same level of security as EMV chip transactions. When a chip-enabled card is processed using the magnetic stripe instead of the chip, the transaction may not qualify for the counterfeit-fraud protections associated with EMV processing. Merchants are encouraged to use EMV-enabled terminals and process chip cards as EMV transactions whenever possible. .

Before the EMV liability shift, card issuers generally held liability for counterfeit fraud involving card-present credit and debit card transactions. To encourage EMV adoption and reduce counterfeit-card fraud, the payment networks established new liability guidelines. 

Effective October 1, 2015, liability for certain counterfeit-card fraud losses shifted to the party that had implemented the least secure payment technology. Depending on the circumstances, financial responsibility could fall on: 

• The merchant 
• The merchant acquirer 
• The card issuer 
• Another participating financial institution 

When all parties involved in a transaction are EMV-enabled, liability generally remains with the card issuer. 

For example, consider a financial institution that issues a chip-and-signature card. If the card is used at a merchant that has not implemented chip-card acceptance, a counterfeit card may be used successfully. In this situation, liability for the resulting counterfeit fraud may shift to the merchant because the merchant did not support EMV technology.

No. EMV technology significantly reduces the risk of counterfeit-card fraud in card-present environments by generating unique transaction data for each payment. However, EMV does not eliminate all forms of payment fraud. Fraud involving card-not-present transactions, such as online, mail-order, or telephone purchases, may still occur because these transactions do not involve interaction between the card chip and a payment terminal. EMV should be considered one component of a broader payment-security strategy.

If a chip-enabled card cannot be read successfully, the payment terminal may prompt the cardholder to try the transaction again. Depending on the terminal configuration, card type, and payment-network rules, the transaction may be processed using the magnetic stripe as an alternative method. Because magnetic-stripe transactions do not provide the same security protections as EMV transactions, merchants should ensure that terminals are functioning properly and encourage cardholders to use the chip whenever available.

NFC stands for near-field communication. It is wireless technology that enables compatible devices to exchange information when they are placed near one another. 

Contactless payment cards use embedded chips and Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. Rather than inserting or swiping the card, the cardholder can tap or wave the card near a compatible payment terminal. 

Contactless transactions can reduce POS processing time and may provide enhanced security compared with traditional magnetic-stripe transactions. They use encrypted, transaction-specific data and may generate an alternate payment credential instead of transmitting the card’s actual account number. The cardholder’s name is generally not required to complete the transaction.

EMV is the global standard that governs secure chip-based payment transactions. Contactless payments are a payment method that can operate within the EMV framework using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. 

Traditional EMV transactions require the cardholder to insert a chip card into a terminal, whereas contactless transactions allow the cardholder to tap a compatible card, smartphone, or wearable device near the payment terminal. Both methods use secure transaction data and are designed to help reduce payment fraud.

Merchants may use  MagTek’s devices, Dynaflex II Go and eDynamo card readers, with EMV card reading support. CSG Forte’s hybrid EMV solution enables integrated merchants and partners to connect their existing software applications to the V400C Plus terminal, providing an EMV-capable option while preserving the customer’s existing software integration. 

Note: The Magtek eDynamo does not support tap payments.

At this time, CSG Forte supports chip-and-signature EMV cards, which align with the standard commonly used in the United States. Support for chip-and-PIN functionality may become available in the future.

CSG Forte supports EMV-capable payment devices that can process chip-card transactions and, in many configurations, contactless payments. Examples include supported payment terminals and card readers such as the eDynamo and DynaFlex II Go. Available functionality may vary depending on the device model, integration method, and merchant environment. Merchants should consult applicable CSG Forte product documentation to confirm device compatibility and supported payment features Devices – CSG Forte.