American Express will delay the EMV fraud liability shift due to complications from the coronavirus, following reports that Visa has made a similar concession.  More information may be found here.

By John Drechny, CEO, Merchant Advisory Group September 5, 2019

Data released by Visa showed that counterfeit fraud ticked down at U.S. merchants by 75 percent from September 2015 to March 2018 as more storefronts started accepting chip cards.

To that end, Visa said that, as of its latest “Visa Chip Card Update,” as many as 67 percent of storefronts in the United States now accept chip cards.

The company further elaborated that counterfeit fraud dollars at all U.S. merchants slipped 46 percent.

The decision to delay the forecourt EMV liability shift from October 1, 2017 to October 1, 2020, came as quite a surprise to many in the industry.  While the delay provides retailers with additional time to make EMV upgrades, upgrades are likely to continue at a rapid pace given the potential risks to retailers choosing to wait.

Despite the delay in the liability shift date, the petroleum industry will continue to move forward with implementation and dealers are encouraged to make upgrades as soon as they become available.