The SMART Route to Becoming Chip-Card Savvy

There’s a lot of talk about EMV cards, but many merchants haven’t seen them yet. So, they could be thinking that smart chip-card adoption is “way off in the future.”

If that’s what they’re thinking, they’re in for a rude awakening. American Express^®, Citibank, Chase, Bank of America, and Discover — to name just a few — have already issued new cards, and big retailers like Target and Walmart are using them in alpha and beta test programs.

For now, U.S.-issued cards have retained their magnetic stripes, giving merchants breathing space to continue using traditional transaction technology. But that won’t last forever, and merchants may already encounter cards from overseas issuers without the stripe, forcing them to key in the transaction.

So, how can banks help merchant customers and their employees gain familiarity with handling chip-card technology when they’re not EMV-ready and don’t yet have a strategy in place for the transition?

One possibility is through the introduction and use of Veracity’s SMARTCARD program, says Dyson Barnet, Vice President Sales Strategy for Veracity’s FanCONNECT™ and LIFT product lines. “Like EMV cards, the SMARTCARD uses a similarly-purposed, multi-function, chip-based card,” he says. “The program offers a single, ‘intelligent’ card that can be used for loyalty programs, rewards and incentives, and gift or stored value.”

And because the card itself stores transactional and customer data, which can be fed into a “dashboard” or promotional center, merchants can gain deep insight into customer behavior and use the card to acquire customer opt-in to promotional deals, incentivize further spending, and attract new customers.

Here and now

Full EMV may still be on the horizon, but SMARTCARD, which is customized for each individual merchant, is here today, offering the potential to familiarize merchants and employees with chip technology, and giving banks a tool for setting expectations and enabling understanding of how such cards can be used.

“Merchants can see it and feel it and use it … so it’s making use of today’s technology right now and informing them on the logistic,” says Barnett. “It takes a lot of burden off of a bank by enabling that process, and hands it to the merchant so they have an expectation and understanding of how to use the technology.”

The functionality of the SMARTCARD also creates understanding about the extended versatility that chip technology delivers, says Barnett. “You have a gift card program, you have a loyalty program, perhaps even a stored value program, so you have these three tools that merchants can understand.”

He adds, “All of these items are already in use, but what we’ve done is to take them and merge them all together using a new state-of-the-art technology that creates a much more useful platform. It makes it truly simplified to the merchant. The opportunity to gain experience and expertise through this simplified approach gives banks a ‘leg-up’ in the challenge of educating merchants.”

Veracity’s SMARTCARD is just one more example of a practical solution that has both immediate value and ongoing value for helping to smooth merchants’ transition to EMV.

[cta]To learn more about what EMV will mean for your financial institution, please email Brenda Stein or call 803-335-2701 with comments, questions, and feedback.

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