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The world is already moving towards chip payments. This upgrade brings many benefits to retailers like you.

Low risk
The information on a chip card is protected by encryption, which means it is virtually impossible to copy and the number of counterfeit cards will decrease. For you as a merchant, that means the risk of fraudulent and disputed transactions is extremely low.

Greater security
In many countries, card issuers are also moving to personal identification numbers (PINs) to confirm a cardholder’s identity. The card is inserted into the terminal and your customer simply enters his or her secret PIN into the terminal’s key pad instead of signing the sales slip. This makes transactions even faster and more secure because there is no signature to be checked.

Cost effective
Their memory capacity means that chip cards can be used safely in remote locations where telecommunications are unreliable or prohibitively expensive. Information stored on the chip can be checked by a terminal, which means there is no need to call the cardholder’s bank for authorisation. This means that you will have all the security of on-line transactions but without the telecommunications costs.

Additional features
A single smart payment card can perform a variety of functions. So as well as the convenience of paying with plastic, you could offer your Visa customers extra benefits to encourage spending, such as loyalty schemes or discounts for multiple purchases.

Faster transactions
Chip cards can make paying faster and shopping queues shorter. Card terminals currently contact your bank to authorise payment. A chip card can authorise some transactions on its own by confirming your cardholder’s PIN to the card terminal, which saves time. Using a PIN also eliminates the need to sign and check a sales slip.

Easy to install
Just talk to your bank about a new or upgraded terminal. If you are a large merchant with a linked network of terminals, talk to your supplier. You can find a full list of Visa-approved terminals at www.emvco.com

Less liability From 1 January 2006 liability rules are changing to give greater protection to merchants who have invested in chip technology meeting the global EMV standard. For more details please contact your Acquirer.