PURCHASE, N.Y., and RIVERWOODS, Ill. — Discover and Mastercard have both postponed the EMV liability shift for automatic fuel dispensers (AFDs) until Aprils 16, 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The moves follow similar delays from Visa, with a deadline of April 17, 2021, and American Express, with a deadline of April 16, 2021.
“With the current pandemic impacting merchants around the country, we looked at our mission to be a good partner and believe that moving this date will ease the concerns for gas stations as they look to update their automated fuel dispensers,” said Andrew Hopkins, senior vice president of global products and pricing at Discover. “EMV has significantly reduced counterfeit fraud, and we encourage our merchants to continue their efforts to migrate their fuel dispensers to EMV.”
The delays give fuel retailers more time to install EMV-compliant systems. Discover and Mastercard’s updated deadlines officially make April 2021 the new liability shift date, now that each of the major card brands have adjusted.
“Many fuel companies have made the shift to a safer and more secure EMV environment, and we applaud them for doing so; however, we also recognize and respect the complexities to upgrade to safer and more secure EMV transactions at fuel dispensers over the next few months,” said Kush Saxena, executive vice president of U.S. merchants and acceptance for Mastercard. “The new program we are putting into the market provides a new and differentiated layer of protection, thus securing consumers and mitigating losses for all parties.”
In late March, NACS and other fuel retail associations sent letters to Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover requesting a delay in the EMV fraud liability shift due to complications from social distancing and shelter-in-place policies.
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