b'2020 Associate News Upgrading Your Pump for EMVits Not so ScaryTheres no doubt that we have faced someIn addition to a station ensuring it is not held liable for unusual monthsand the future as a result of im- fraud, an upgrade could also mean promoting fewer pacts from COVID-19 is somewhat uncertain. We aretouch points if the solution has contactless capabili-hearing many talk of a new normal and that manytiesall important factors during this new normal. changes are here to stay for a whileperhaps someWith EMV contactless, there is no need to insert a indefinitely. Fortunately, the EMV liability mandatecard, enter a zip code or signature. Eliminating touch for pay at the pump has been extended 6 months topoints is a positive benefit that a station can promote April 2021. This is the 3 rdextension and more thanto customers. likely the last. However, upgrading to support EMV The best option for stations that cant afford a full re-Author Bill Pittman, at the pump is not as scary, difficult or expensive placement is to upgrade by using an affordable retrofit Senior Vice President as it may seem. solution. The key word is affordable because there of Sound Payments are a number of vendors that may promote retrofit Petro Solutions We know that upgrading to support EMV was a con- solutions but the price is still high and the solution is cern for stations even prior to COVID-19, evidencedlacking in options.by the Conexxus survey data last year and the requests for multiple deadline extensions. Respondents citedA semi-integrated, retrofit solution can eliminate lack of available software options and price as toptouch points, simplify installations and add contact-concerns in the survey. But there are options other thanless to support social distancing guidelines.a costly complete pump replacement (some in excess ofThere are a few important points to consider when $100,000 plus per site), pulling up concrete and com- evaluating a retrofit upgrade: pletely disrupting the daily operations and revenue.1. Does the vendor use a semi-integratedThe scary part about not upgrading is the cost of noncompliance at the pump, which has resulted in moresolution at the pump or does it require a fully than $500 million in charge-backs in the last severalintegrated solution? quarters, and as a result, brand reputation becomes2. Does it allow for easier scalability? What isruined when there is fraud found at the pump. The con-sequences could mean putting a station out of business.the installation processcan you upgradeone pump at a time, or do you need to shutThe good news is that there are more options now thatthe station down? are cost-effective, and stations have time to evalu- 3. How about security - is it tamper resistantate those options and make an informed decision. However, some of the industry challenges includeand is it P2PEi.e., card data encrypted at the lack of available installers, so now is the time for sta- point of entry? tions to act. Waiting could mean spending more on anWith a retrofit solution that enables EMV, you can use upgrade, and even worse, your installation could beyour existing pumps and should be able to support pushed past the deadline. EMV at a much lower cost than installing a new pump. The Importance of Semi-integration Traditional industry certifications for EMV take about 6+ months to complete, which is why having multiple certification requirements is not ideal. With a semi-in-tegrated solution there is a single certification because the device goes directly to the payment processor. For a fully integrated solution, which most of the industry supports, anytime a component in the payment flow changes such as card reader, forecourt controller or payment software, the solution needs to be recertifieda time-consuming process.Full integration includes the payment application as a part of the core POS solution. It handles every aspect of transaction, from reading the barcode scan or Chip on Card and pushing the credit card data to the pro-cessor to managing inventory. All card data is handled by the POS and therefore in direct PCI scope. continued on page 2824 www.wpma.com / Autumn 2020'