Square Puts SMBs Ahead of the Game with New EMV Chip Reading Device

Guide to Bringing Business Back to Brick-and-Mortar Stores

Recent adoption of credit card payment chips, called EMV, by many credit card companies in the U.S. will mean that many small businesses will want to upgrade their POS technologies. By late 2015, it is expected that most cards will be chip-enabled. And according to Forbes, one company that is a favorite for small business mobile credit card sales is Square, which has just announced that it has already created a new device to read the chip-based cards.

Although many U.S. stores have yet to switch over to the new chip-reading devices, Square is ahead of the game for small businesses. And for good reason. The technology behind the addition of the chips helps curb credit card fraud. Most of Europe, Canada, Asia and South America have already adopted the chip technology and are seeing a difference in the rates of credit card fraud. It is hoped that once the U.S. fully adopts the technology, the global loss due to credit card fraud will drop. A recent report from Business Insider found the following:

In 2013, fraud in the U.S. cost $6.8 billion and accounted for 51% of global card fraud losses. That amount is completely out of proportion to the U.S. share of global card transaction volume. 

All businesses should be excited for any technology that can lessen the impact of credit card fraud. And though EMV reading technology for retailers can cost a lot, Square wants to be sure that mom-and-pop shops and small retailers won’t miss out on the game. CEO of Square, Jack Dorsey, said in a release that:

“There are more and more ways to pay, and with options like bitcoin and contactless, customers expect to pay however they want; cashiers should never have to say ‘We don’t accept that.’ Square started by empowering anybody to accept credit cards and enabling customers to pay with their name. Our EMV readers are the next step towards ensuring sellers make every sale.”

The new Square EMV readers can be pre-ordered later this year. Like its predecessor, the reader will be pocket-sized and will work with most smartphones and tablets, including those that are iOS and Android-powered.

Kim Mays has been editing and writing about IT since 1999. She currently tackles the topics of small to midsize business technology and introducing new tools for IT. Follow Kim on Google+ at google.com/+KimberlyMays6 or Twitter @blumoonky.