Merchants and developers are racing to implement EMV terminals to accept chip cards ahead of the October 1, 2015 merchant liability shift deadline. Buyer beware- some ‘EMV Ready‘ terminals may never be certified.

EMV READY VS EMV CERTIFIED

Credit card terminals advertised as EMV Ready, EMV Capable or EMV Compliant are terminals that ‘could’ accept chip cards in the future. But, the terminal must be certified to the processor. Due to the expense and time, not all terminals will be certified. If the terminal is driven by a POS application or payment gateway, both the solution and the terminal must be certified to each processor or merchant acquirer.

Tip: Beware language like “this terminal will get you ready for EMV”.

The image below from First Data shows specific terminals that solutions partners have submitted that their integrating, however, there’s no guarantee any will ever be completed.

CenPOS, an end to end payment engine, offers the only independent payment gateway with US EMV certified terminals available for all major processors today.

CenPOS has offered gateway driven certified EMV terminal solutions since January 2015. Is CenPOS right for your company, POS, or ERP?  Click here to view the full EMV Buyers Guide.

Christine Speedy is a global authorized reseller of CenPOS, specializing in B2B, omnichannel and integrations.