Making Safe Payments at the Pump
This week’s Convenience Matters podcast takes a look at what EMV compliance means for retailers.
Jan 16, 2019
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On this week’s episode of Convenience Matters, “Securing Payments at the Gas Pump,” NACS hosts Jeff Lenard and Carolyn Schnare discuss how retailers are handling EMV compliance with Joshua Smith, CEO and founder of Gas Pos Inc.
Fuel retailers have until October 2020 to make their fuel dispensers fully compliant with EMV technology. “We should care because 40 million Americans use electronic methods of payment to purchase fuel, and EMV is the tool we use to prevent in-person card fraud,” said Smith.
One reason for an extension on the original October 2017 deadline for outdoor EMV compliance is the complexity of updating dispensers, as well as cost. “For most retailers, the cost was a few hundred dollars per card terminal to upgrade to EMV compliance,” Smith pointed out, adding, “This is the biggest change to electronic payment systems in 60 years.”
Smith estimated that updating four fuel dispensers would cost between $30,000 and $40,000, and replacing those pumps with new ones would run between $80,000 and $100,000. “Add to that the fact that today’s industry is made up of small-business owners who have to come up with the out-of-pocket cost of a new house—and finance it only over three to five years—then you see this is a huge investment,” he said.
For more on EMV compliance in the fuel retailing industry, visit conexxus.org.
Each week a new Convenience Matters episode is released. The podcast can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play and other podcast apps, and at www.conveniencematters.com. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners more than 60,000 times in 80 countries.
