Merchants Oppose Poison Pill That Undercuts Competition, Main Street and Consumers

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“Without debit reform’s competition-enhancing standards, banks would be free to return to the days of unfettered price fixing.”

June 24, 2016 WASHINGTON (BUSINESS WIRE)

Yesterday, Chairman Jeb Hensarling of the House Financial Services Committee gave a speech about his commitment to helping Main Street and ending government bailouts. Unfortunately, the draft bill he released later in the day does the exact opposite.

Section 335 of chairman’s Hensarling’s discussion draft of the “CHOICE Act” favors the interests of fewer than two percent of the nation’s largest banks and the credit-card brands over the interests of small retailers, their employees and consumers in every Congressional district in the country.

This bill would turn back reforms that created a freer market and prevented Visa and MasterCard from price-fixing the fees their member banks charge merchants when customers swipe a debit card to buy something. Rep. Hensarling would turn the clock back six years to when financial institutions operated this “swipe fee” business as a rigged market without competition.

The reforms Rep. Hensarling proposes to repeal also brought competition into the debit- routing market, where previously there was none. Repealing these reforms removes requirements for networks to compete and paves the way for network monopolies, reducing our payment security while raising costs for all American consumers and retailers and harming our economy as a whole.

“Without debit reform’s competition-enhancing standards, banks would be free to return to the days of unfettered price fixing,” said Mallory Duncan, chairman of the Merchants Payments Coalition and senior vice president and general counsel at the National Retail Federation. “It’s important to remember that despite the smokescreen the big banks put up, debit reform is an incontrovertible success and should be protected.”

Join the millions of Main Street businesses in every Congressional district in calling for Chairman Hensarling to remove his poison-pill language that leaves the debit- card market without competition.

The Merchants Payments Coalition represents 2.7 million stores, including restaurants, supermarkets, drug stores, convenience stores, gas stations, on-line merchants and others, with 50 million employees, fighting unfair credit-card fees and working for a competitive and transparent system for merchants and consumers.

Contacts
Merchants Payments Coalition
Michael Flagg, 202-253-4164

Visa to Help Accelerate EMV Chip Migration and Support Merchants

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Streamlined certification, financial and technical support to further accelerate EMV chip terminal deployment

Modified chargeback policies will provide near term relief to merchants who are not yet chip-ready

SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jun. 16, 2016– Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) today announced a series of initiatives to help accelerate EMV chip migration for merchants. Visa has streamlined its testing requirements, amended and simplified the terminal certification process, and committed to investing further resources and technical expertise in a manner that can reduce timeframes by as much as 50 percent. Visa is also making policy changes to help limit exposure to counterfeit fraud liability for merchants who are not yet chip-ready.

visa

Chip card technology helps prevent fraud the results from data compromises. (Photo: Business Wire)

While the U.S. migration to chip technology is a significant undertaking, tremendous progress has been made to-date with over 300 million chip cards in market and 1.2 million merchant locations now accepting chip cards. An average of 23,000 new merchant locations become chip-ready each week. Despite the success to date, a migration of this size takes time and hence many merchants still require help to cross the finish line.

Streamlined Implementation

Before a merchant can turn on a new chip terminal, it needs to be tested to ensure it works properly for the merchant and cardholder. Chip technology can be implemented in different ways based on the unique needs of a merchant, and therefore, different merchants need to be tested in different ways. The more complex a merchant’s point of sale environment, the greater the number of tests. However, Visa has streamlined its testing requirements to significantly reduce the complexity, time, and cost of implementation.

By way of example, a national grocery chain recently followed Visa’s streamlined approach and completed development, testing, and certification months ahead of schedule.

Acquirers Can “Self-Certify” Their Solutions

Going a step further, Visa will provide acquirers greater discretion to determine the appropriate level of testing required to ensure a merchant’s solution is ready. Acquirers know their merchants better than anyone, so providing acquirers with the commercial flexibility to self-certify their clients will further reduce certification wait times for solutions that acquirers are confident are ready.

Visa is also exploring a system for acquirers to share certification test results with each other to avoid testing duplication. That is, if a certain merchant configuration (e.g., restaurants with specific hardware and software) is known to consistently work with one acquirer, then other acquirers should be aware of this and take it into consideration as they make their decisions.

Incremental Funding and Resources to Support Migration

Visa will increase its investment to support both acquirers and the value-added resellers (VARs) that develop the software to power chip terminals. Visa funding will be available to help acquirers with any specific resource constraints they may be facing, as well as to help VARs pre-certify their software solutions in a manner that will significantly reduce the subsequent testing at acquirers by up to 80 percent.

In addition, Visa will provide hands-on support to VARs who may need technical information, education, consulting, and training. A dedicated team of Visa experts will be available to provide direct support in the form of webinars and direct one-on-one conversations, as needed.

“Visa recognizes the importance of having the industry help merchants get their chip terminal solutions up and running quickly so that everyone, especially consumers, can benefit from the powerful security protection of chip technology,” said Oliver Jenkyn, Group Executive North America, Visa Inc. “We’ve taken steps to simplify the process as much as possible and help reduce any challenges so merchants can move forward with chip adoption quickly.”

“Vantiv has been relentlessly working to help merchants upgrade their point-of-sale systems to new levels of security with EMV,” said Royal Cole, Group President, Merchant and Financial Institution Services at Vantiv. “To help accelerate this process, we’ve been working with Visa to find comprehensive ways to further streamline the conversion process for the entire ecosystem – from software developer partners to the smallest-sized businesses. We are very encouraged by the new measures and programs that Visa is announcing today, and we hope others will join in instituting similar programs.”

Counterfeit Chargeback Policy Changes

Historically, issuers have been responsible for the full cost of counterfeit fraud that takes place at a merchant. In 2011, to support the migration to EMV chip technology, Visa announced a liability shift that became effective in October 2015. With this change, the cost of counterfeit fraud is the responsibility of the party – either the merchant or the issuer – that has not implemented chip technology. Given that some merchants are still working to get their chip terminals enabled and certified, they may now be bearing the cost of counterfeit fraud originated in their stores. Visa’s actions today seek to alleviate the impact on merchants while they work through the transition.

Visa is modifying its policies to limit the number of fraudulent transactions that issuers can charge back to merchants (and their acquirers). Effective July 22, 2016, Visa will block all U.S. counterfeit fraud chargebacks under $25. These smaller chargebacks generate a great deal of work and expense for merchants and acquirers, with limited financial impact for issuing banks. In addition, effective October 2016, issuers will also be limited to charging back 10 fraudulent counterfeit transactions per account, and will assume liability for all fraudulent transactions on the account thereafter. This reinforces the responsibility issuers already have to detect and act on counterfeit fraud quickly. These blocks will stay in effect until April 2018.

These two changes together will significantly reduce the number chargebacks that merchants are seeing. Following these changes, merchants can expect to see 40 percent fewer counterfeit chargebacks, and a 15 percent reduction in U.S. counterfeit fraud dollars being charged back.

For more information, acquirers and processors should contact their Visa account executive.

About Visa Inc.: Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, pay ahead of time with prepaid or pay later with credit products. For more information, visit usa.visa.com/about-visa, visacorporate.tumblr.com and @VisaNews.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160616005425/en/

Source: Visa Inc.

Visa Inc.
Sandra Chu, +1 415-805-4124
sanchu@visa.com
Lea Cademenos, +1 415-805-4271
lcademen@visa.com

American Express To Update U.S. Fraud Policies To Limit EMV Chargebacks for Merchants

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Policy Changes Aim to Reduce Fraud Costs for Merchants While Promoting Further Adoption of EMV

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–In an effort to promote further adoption of EMV in the U.S., American Express (NYSE: AXP) today announced changes to its EMV chargeback policy to help merchants limit their fraud costs as they upgrade their point-of-sale systems. By the end of August 2016, merchants will not be held liable for chargebacks for counterfeit fraud when a transaction is under $25. In addition, by the end of 2016 American Express also plans to limit the number of counterfeit fraud chargebacks to a total of 10 per card account. The card issuer – not the merchant – will bear the financial liability for any additional counterfeit fraud transaction that is disputed on a card account after 10 chargebacks. This limit does not prevent a Card Member from disputing additional fraudulent transactions.

“We recognize the migration to EMV in the U.S. is an effort that will take time, which is why we are making these policy changes in order to provide flexibility to those merchants that may need more time to upgrade their point-of-sale terminals to accept EMV chip cards.”

“Combating fraud is an ongoing priority for American Express,” said Mike Matan, Vice President, Global Network Business, American Express. “We recognize the migration to EMV in the U.S. is an effort that will take time, which is why we are making these policy changes in order to provide flexibility to those merchants that may need more time to upgrade their point-of-sale terminals to accept EMV chip cards.”

The changes announced today by American Express will remain in effect until April 2018. The changes are expected to help reduce counterfeit fraud costs for merchants who have not yet upgraded their point-of-sale terminals to accept EMV chip cards. An analysis by American Express found that more than 40% of its counterfeit fraud chargebacks in the U.S. are for transactions under $25.

EMV technology reduces the risk of fraud stemming from counterfeit payment cards by storing information on a microprocessor chip embedded in a card. Card Members dip or insert their EMV chip cards into a merchant’s payment terminal instead of swiping their cards. Under a Fraud Liability Shift implemented by American Express in October 2015, the party – merchant or card issuer – with the least secure form of technology is responsible for counterfeit fraud costs.

American Express earlier this month announced the availability of Amex Quick Chip, which enables Card Members to dip their chip card during the check-out process and remove it before the transaction is completed. This can reduce the time Card Members must keep their Cards inserted in the terminal, providing an experience similar to swiping a magnetic stripe card and enabling merchants to streamline the checkout experience. American Express also offers merchant acquirers a self-certification program that allows them to perform the tests necessary to certify merchants’ point-of-sale devices for EMV chip card acceptance. The program enables merchant acquirers to complete the required POS certifications within as little as a few hours. Today, the vast majority of U.S. POS certifications on the American Express Global Network are performed using the self-certification program.

For more information about the self-certification program, merchant acquirers can visit: https://network.americanexpress.com/en/globalnetwork/certification/.

About American Express

American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com.

American Express Launches Quick Chip Service to Provide a More Seamless Process for EMV Chip Card Transactions at Point of Sale

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Service is Available to Help U.S. Merchants Streamline the Check-Out Process When Card Members Pay With Their Chip Cards

NEW YORK,  June 15, 2016 — 

American Express today announced the availability of Amex Quick Chip, a technology that enables merchants to provide a more seamless experience at the point of sale for Card Members when they pay with their EMV chip cards. Amex Quick Chip is available to merchant processors, which may deploy the service to interested U.S. merchants through a software update to the merchants’ EMV-enabled payment terminals. This provides another option for merchants in industries where having a fast check-out process is especially important.

EMV technology reduces the risk of fraud stemming from counterfeit payment cards by storing information on a microprocessor chip embedded in a card. Card Members dip or insert their EMV cards into a merchant’s payment terminal instead of swiping their cards. With Amex Quick Chip, Card Members can dip their Card during the check-out process and remove it before the transaction is completed. This can reduce the time Card Members must keep their Cards inserted in the terminal, providing an experience similar to swiping a magnetic stripe card and enabling merchants to streamline the checkout experience. Importantly, Amex Quick Chip continues to offer the same protection against counterfeit cards that traditional chip card technology does.

“Reducing friction for Card Members and merchants is a key priority for American Express,” said Mike Matan, Vice President, Global Network Business, American Express. “Amex Quick Chip provides merchants operating in industries where fast checkout speed is critical with an option for ensuring Card Members can quickly and efficiently pay for purchases with their EMV chip cards.”

Amex Quick Chip is compatible with the technical standards used in Quick Chip services offered by other payment networks, enabling processors and their merchants to easily implement these solutions across all card brands that they accept.

Amex Quick Chip is currently available to processors, merchants and vendors in the U.S. Interested parties may download the Amex Quick Chip Technical Manual at www.amexglobalnetwork.com/amexquickchip to review implementation requirements for the service. Merchants that want to upgrade to Amex Quick Chip should contact their point-of-sale provider.

About American Express
American Express is a global services company, providing customers with access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn more at americanexpress.com.

NRF Says Overturning Dodd-Frank Would Reinstitute Price Fixing by Card Companies

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June 7, 2016 WASHINGTON – The National Retail Federation today released the following statement after Rep. Jeb Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, announced plans to repeal swipe-fee reform and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

“Today Jeb Hensarling announced that he wants to repeal an important competitive change in Dodd-Frank reform and return to the bad old days when card companies and banks freely picked the public’s pocket,” NRF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Mallory Duncan said.

 

“Protecting bank profit margins at the expense of competition is not sound public policy and it will harm merchants and consumers. The financial services industry attempted to get Congress to reject transparency and competition in 2010 and again in 2011. Both efforts failed. On behalf of retailers and their customers, NRF will fight for free and open markets.”

Swipe fees on debit and credit cards are many retailers’ second-largest operating cost, behind labor. These fees threaten small retailers with failure and keep merchants from hiring and expanding, slowing the entire economy. Exorbitant swipe fees also mean consumers pay higher prices. American merchants and consumers still pay the highest swipe fees in the world on debit and credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Under the Dodd-Frank Consumer Protection and Wall Street Reform Act of 2010, the Federal Reserve was required to adopt regulations that would result in debit swipe fees that were “reasonable and proportional” to the actual cost of processing a transaction. Federal Reserve staff calculated the average cost at 4 cents per transaction and proposed a cap no higher than 12 cents. Nonetheless, after heavy lobbying from banks the Federal Reserve Board of Governors eventually settled on 21 cents plus 0.05 percent of the transaction for fraud recovery and allowed another 1 cent for fraud prevention in most cases. The cap, which applies only to financial institutions with $10 billion or more in assets, took effect in 2011 and totals about 24 cents on a typical debit card transaction.

NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries. Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.6 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy. NRF’s This is Retail campaign highlights the industry’s opportunities for life-long careers, how retailers strengthen communities, and the critical role that retail plays in driving innovation. nrf.com

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