Consumers may be the hidden persuaders for EMV adoption!

I have a few clients weighting the pros and cons of upgrading their software to comply with the EMV mandate. In my opinion the risks are compelling to comply rather than wait and see. The risk of a data breech is the worst case scenario but there are other costs that must be considered. Processors and banks could refuse to let you use their processing network if you can’t pass a vulnerability test. It could take weeks to get your system back on line. The cost to Target for their data breech has been grossly under stated since they only reported the cost of $168 million to remedy the breech. The stock took a hit and their last quarter’s sales were far below forecasts and both of these factors can be attributed to loss of consumer confidence which are costs that should be included. Banks are beginning to send out cards with the EMV chips as replacements to the existing credit cards. There will be a grace period as most large retailers come online with the capability to process the chip cards but once that grace period is over consumers will feel their data is more secure with this technology. If you don’t comply with the EMV mandate consumers may elect to vote with their wallets and shop where they feel more secure. Think of the cost of becoming compliant in the same terms as insurance, you hope you never have to use but you need just in case.