News

ATMIA urges card associations to rethink EMV deadlines for ATMs

March 11, 2013

The U.S. chapter of the ATM Industry Association has sent an open letter to global payment networks requesting a realistic, consistent approach to chip card migration for ATM deployers and operators in America.

Specifically, the letter addresses the pending April 19 liability shift for Maestro card transactions at ATMs. In a little more than a month, U.S. ATM operators will become responsible for fraudulent transactions on the international ATM/debit network, which is owned by MasterCard.

The ATMIA letter contends that the Maestro deadline will be impossible for the ATM industry to meet, given that the payment networks and ATM industry have not yet arrived at a consistent and workable scheme for the implementation of chip card transactions.

Further, in a Catch-22 scenario, ATM operators will not be permitted by the card network to decline Maestro transactions, which lays them open to potentially devastating card fraud.

Significant longer-term issues also require resolution, ATMIA pointed out. These include software development for various industry segments and the establishment of specific testing and certification procedures that will be required of all ATM networks and processors.

"If changes aren't made to this deadline, the end result could be that some ATMs might be taken out of service," said David Tente, ATMIA U.S. executive director. "Particularly hard hit may be tourist areas where the volumes of foreign transactions trend higher.

"With consistent rollout requirements and reasonable liability shift timing, the industry will have a better chance at being successful and minimizing service disruptions," he said.

The complete text of the letter is available at the ATMIA website. 

Read more about EMV.

Included In This Story

---

ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

Request Info

Learn More