While every business begins with the dream of making money, few are launched with any expertise in what to do with it. But don’t worry – we’re here to help. This monthly series will offer important accounting and financial management tips for those of us working hard, wearing many hats and wondering how to read a balance sheet.
What is EMV?
On October 1st, the United Stated transitioned to the full adoption of EMV chip-enabled cards to reduce credit card fraud. If you’re using QuickBooks Payments service, this is an important change to be aware of.
EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa—the developers of this standard. EMV cards make credit transactions more secure than the traditional magnetic stripe cards. Embedded with a chip that provides stronger security features, EMV cards encrypt data for ever sale.
How Could EMV Affect Me?
Before EMV cards were introduced, banks assumed the loss when businesses swiped counterfeit or stolen cards. To encourage businesses to adopt more secured technology, the liability has shifted from banks to merchants. This means you may be liable for charges made during card present transactions.
If you only accept keyed payments, don’t worry— the transition to EMV chip-enabled cards only apply to card present transactions.
What Do I Need To Do?
It’s simple. Order your QuickBooks mobile EMV card reader. It will read both EMV chips and magnetic strip cards, work with both Apple and Android devices, and synch up with your existing GoPayment app. While the transition isn’t mandatory, it’s something we strongly recommend to mitigate the chance of being liable for transactions made on counterfeit or stolen cards.