POS Vendors Prepare for October 1 Deadline for EMV Transition

October 1 marks the deadline after which retailers that are not equipped with EMV chip card technology in their stores may be held liable for fraudulent purchases. The credit card industry is migrating to EMV chip card technology, which includes EMV-certified credit card processing equipment at the point of sale, to combat rising credit card fraud.

Here, several point-of-sale vendors working on transitioning bookstores to EMV technology have provided status updates as well as contact information for booksellers looking to learn more.

Anthology

Anthology is working with Element Payment Services (EPS) to bring EMV technology to the POS vendor’s bookstore clients as soon as possible. As each backend processor (Vantiv, Global, TSYS, First Data, and Paymentech) comes on board with the new triPOS solution from Element, Anthology will be able to certify and roll out the new EMV devices to our customers. If an Anthology store does not implement EMV before the busy holiday season, they can be assured that the encrypted devices already used with Hosted Payments from Element Payment Services are protecting their customers’ data and limiting the store’s vulnerability to data breach. 

Anthology and EPS are introducing a variety of devices for retailers large and small. All devices will be capable of accepting magnetic stripe cards, EMV chip cards, and contactless payment methods, such as Google Wallet and Apple Pay. Entry-level units will cost about $250, and more sophisticated terminals that will also accommodate signature capture features can range up to $750. Most booksellers working with Anthology will not experience additional costs for software updates; the few that are not part of Anthology’s support program may need to purchase a software upgrade. Those that use the older credit platforms PC Charge or PAYware Connect will need to transition processing to the Element platform in order to get end-to-end encryption tools along with the new EMV and contactless capabilities.

Via its newsletters, Anthology will be sharing additional information about the devices booksellers will need to purchase from Element Payment Services in order to be prepared to accept EMV chip cards. The Anthology technical team will help to roll out the new devices with Anthology version 9.1 for Classic installations and 9.2 for RDS and APC configurations. In the meantime, booksellers should keep an eye out for e-mail newsletter updates. Questions can be addressed to [email protected].

Basil

Bookselling This Week reached out to Basil for this article but did not receive updated information. In March 2015, Basil said that questions about the transition should be addressed to Gary Costello at [email protected] or (678) 245-4599, ext. 107. Technical support can be reached at [email protected] or (678) 267-2974.

Booklog

Booklog has been able to process NFC (contactless EMV) payments, including Google Wallet and Apple Pay, using VeriFone PAYware Connect and MX signature capture devices for quite some time. The company is expanding that option with the new Mercury Payments integration and VeriFone POINT integration to also include EMV payments. In addition, Booklog will be adding support for the VeriFone VX805 device. Booklog’s EMV compatible Mercury Payments Integration will be available in late September and the VeriFone POINT Integration will be available at the beginning of October. Note: With this new Booklog Version 12, Booklog will no longer support the current, non-EMV compatible PAYware and PCCharge Interfaces.

There are three options for implementing EMV compliance:

1. Mercury Payments Integration: This new interface option is fully integrated with Booklog; however, it is compatible with only the VX805 (non-signature capture) device and requires you to switch your processor to Mercury Payments, though you most likely may continue to use your current bank. An upgrade to Booklog V12 is required and an upgrade to Sybase 12 is recommended. Signature capture is not available with this option.

2. VeriFone POINT Integration: This new interface option is fully integrated with Booklog V12; utilizes MX915, MX925, or VX805 devices; and allows you to continue using your current processor and your current bank. An upgrade to Booklog V12 is required and an upgrade to Sybase 12 is recommended.

3. Standalone terminals with EMV compatible hardware: This option is not integrated with Booklog and no Booklog upgrade is required. You must acquire EMV compatible hardware from your bank or processor.

For further information and a quote, e-mail gwen@booklog.

Computac

Halfway through the second quarter of 2015, Computac, Inc.’s clients operating the Square One and [i]merchant POS and inventory management systems were actively installing, using, or signing up for EMV card processing through two services: ChargeItPro’s Freedom platform and VeriFone’s Point system.

Both the ChargeItPro Freedom platform and the VeriFone Point system are cloud-based solutions that will send the card information directly from the card reader to the processor without ever being stored locally.

The ChargeItPro Freedom platform and the VeriFone Point system are fully integrated with Square One and [i]merchant and offer/support the VeriFone MX915, VX820, and VX805 card readers.

Booksellers and retailers with questions or concerns about [i]Merchant and Square One can contact retail support at (603) 298-5721 or [email protected]. Stores and retailers not currently using Computac that would like more information about [i]Merchant can contact Mark Warner in sales at [email protected] or (603) 298 5721, ext. 142.

IBID

Information Resource Technology, Inc., which administers the IBID point-of-sale platform, will be working with Creditcall, a company based out of the United Kingdom. The company is not tied to a single piece of hardware, which will allow bookstores working with IBID to have more options when purchasing terminals for their store registers, said IRT president and owner Dave Walton.

Bookstores working with IBID will need to purchase an EMV-compliant device for each POS station. IBID is currently waiting for final certifications of the CreditCall EMV compliant gateway by each credit card processor.

Booksellers with questions about the transition to EMV technology with IBID can reach out to Walton at [email protected] or (412) 369-5990.

WordStock

WordStock has selected the VeriFone MX925 data terminal as its hardware platform for EMV compliance. WordStock booksellers may lease MX925s on a monthly basis from VeriFone or purchase them outright and contract for monthly VeriFone software service.

WordStock maintains a webpage, which can be found here, that discusses the upcoming liability shift and EMV requirements in FAQ format. The page is also accessible via WordStock’s homepage.

Booksellers working with WordStock who have outstanding questions are asked to contact Daniel McCamley at [email protected] or (800) 753-9673, ext. 212.

For more on the approaching EMV deadline, read the September 24 New York Times article “Coming Soon to Checkouts: Microchip-Card Payment Systems.”