BOSTON -- A whopping 650% more retailers reported that they will support Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) by October 2015, the deadline when credit-card liability shifts back to the retailer for those not compliant with EMV policies, according to a new survey from a technology consultancy Boston Retail Partners (BRP).
Improving payment security and protecting the confidentiality of sensitive information has become a top IT priority for retailers across multiple channels, as is the implementation of EMV requirements, the survey found. For the first time in 16 years, more than 63% of the retail respondents in the BRP 2015 POS/Customer Engagement Benchmarking Survey indicated that payment security is among their top three priorities for 2015.
Convenience store retailer Raymond Huff, president of HJB Convenience, Lakewood, Colo., is upbeat about the move to EMV. "You have to keep up with what's next," Huff told CSP Daily News. "It's next to crazy--just put chip and PIN [personal identification number] in it and be done with it."
In his stores, Huff has already bought the necessary card readers for EMV. Fortunately, most of his locations are in office buildings, so he already has a sophisticated customer demographic with many already asking about the new technology.
"EMV is getting lots of attention, but it's not the Holy Grail in the defense against credit-card hackers," said Perry Kramer, vice president of the Boston-based consultancy. "According to our survey, retailers understand a multi-tiered approach, with a combination of EMV, encryption and tokenization [being] key components of a payment-security platform."
Another top priority in the survey is what the firm's consultants call "unified commerce," where the way people pay for things becomes the same across most channels of retail.
"Today's connected/online customers expect the same interactive experience regardless of where they shop. Retailers must deliver a holistic customer experience that transcends channels," said Brian Brunk, principal, Boston Retail Partners. "Under the unified commerce approach, retailers are transforming their organization, business processes and technology to better align with their customers."
Ken Morris, principal, Boston Retail Partners added, "While only 8% of retailers have implemented a single-commerce platform, more than half of the retailers indicated they will have [one] implemented within the next 4 years--that's a 663% increase."
Boston Retail Partners is a retail management consulting firm that combines its consultants' retail knowledge and cross-functional capabilities to help develop strategies and identify technologies and solutions.
[Editor's Note: For more on data security, watch for CSPmagazine's February 2015 cover feature.]
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