Retailers face an Oct. 1 deadline to upgrade their payment terminals to read new chip-enabled credit cards or take on the risk for fraudulent purchases made at their stores using the old mag-stripe technology. To promote the new technology, Visa is starting a nationwide tour across 20 cities aimed at making sure the correct businesses hear the message.
Visa executive Kim Lawrence, who heads Visa’s U.S. chip transition efforts, says that “current estimates are that about half of American retailers will upgrade their payment terminals by the end of 2015.” Lawrence said that not all merchants need to upgrade the technology to combat fraud. Instead, “it hinges on adoption by businesses that are most used by card fraudsters to cash in on counterfeit and stolen cards — mainly shops that sell electronics or pre-paid payment and telephone cards,” as well as drug and grocery stores.