MasterCard credit card chips surge in US
Abide with me
MasterCard says 80% of its US consumer credit cards have chips, an 88% increase in their adoption since the 1 October 2015 liability shift started to bring EMV-secured payments to the country.
The company has had to do this due to the change in law. It says it also sees 1.7 million chip-active merchant locations on its network, representing nearly 30% of the US merchant population and a 374% increase in chip terminal adoption since 1 October 2015.
There was more good news for the firm, when in terms of US dollars; counterfeit card fraud is down over 60% at MasterCard’s top five EMV-enabled merchants.
Chiro Aikat, senior vice-president of product delivery – EMV for MasterCard, says “The US is one of the most complex markets in the world and great progress has been made in securing our payments ecosystem in a short amount of time.”
Whish and chips
In April, MasterCard introduced M/Chip Fast, a new contactless application designed to “speed EMV transactions by prioritising the steps critical to security”.
In June, it unveiled a new EMV chip terminal testing and certification program that “speeds chip terminal deployment to hours, rather than days, allowing merchants to move more quickly to EMV”.
The firm says acquirers will have more responsibility and flexibility for terminal testing as a part of their own internal processes and schedules.
MasterCard says it has also cut the number of needed tests by 58%, minimising mandatory tests and allowing acquirers to use their “discretion and expertise” in deciding when terminals are ready for deployment.
Pals, payments, purchases
It’s been an eventful year for MasterCard.
Recently, PayPal got pally and started talking to MasterCard on a potential strategic alliance. This could mean the end of years of friction.
MasterCard plans to become a payment service provider in China. It is still pondering whether to do so alone or with a partner, it is understood.
It has also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 92.4% of VocaLink for $920 million.
