Come October 1, financial institutions (FIs) processing ATM transactions for MasterCard-branded cards will be liable for any fraud occurring on chip-enabled cards at non-chip-enabled ATMs. (The deadline for Visa-branded cards is October 1, 2017.) As FIs upgrade their ATMs to meet this deadline, they should also focus on preparing consumers. If last year’s EMV liability shift has taught us anything, it is the importance of educating consumers when new technology comes into play.
Prepping consumers for using EMV chip cards at ATMs does not require much time, money or effort. All it takes is some proactive communication. This may include:
- Building general awareness. Initial communications to consumers about upcoming ATM changes should be simple, direct and give a high-level description of what to expect. Consider sending out an email blast to consumers and posting additional information online.
- Providing tutorials. Simple how-to videos can be easy and relatively inexpensive to produce. Dolphin Debit provided this basic video to help consumers understand how to use their chip cards at ATMs.
- Developing helpful signage. To avoid confusion at ATMs, consider adding instructional signage for consumers. These signs can alert consumers the ATM is chip-enabled and provide then with visual assistance for using the ATM.
- Preparing front-line staff. As consumers adjust to slight differences in ATM transactions, they may have a lot of questions. These questions will likely be fielded by an FI’s front-line staff. Providing staff with some talking points and FAQs makes them better equipped to answer questions.
Throughout this transitional period, it is also important to reiterate the value of EMV chip cards to consumers. While there may be some initial confusion, chip card readers at ATMs will add an additional layer of security against fraud.
