With only nine months until the EMV migration deadline, retail and
technology professionals are still unprepared, according to a recent
survey by ACI
Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW). The survey of 200 retail industry
professionals was conducted in January 2015 at the National Retail
Federation’s 104th Annual Convention and Expo, “The Big
Show,” in New York.
Principle findings of the survey included:
-
EMV Readiness. Nearly one quarter of respondents are still not
fully prepared for the migration to chip & PIN technology, despite the
impending October deadline. Of the retailers surveyed (55 percent of
total respondents), 14 percent still have work to do, 19 percent are
not prepared and 22 percent are still evaluating their options.
-
Breaches and Payments Security. More than half (59 percent) of
respondents cited that the past year’s data breaches have impacted
investments in payment security initiatives. 39 percent have already
increased investments in payment security initiatives while 20 percent
indicated they plan to increase investments in payment security
initiatives over the next 12-24 months.
-
Omni-channel. Beyond payments security, respondents anticipate
the top three biggest investments will be in omni-channel
sales/seamless customer experience (37 percent), mobile payments
acceptance technology (20 percent) and online/eCommerce initiatives
(20 percent).
-
Mobile Wallet War. Respondents predict Apple (47 percent) will
emerge as the dominant mobile payment technology provider. Google (21
percent) came in second followed by PayPal (15 percent).
Data Breaches Raise Eyebrows, But Not Checkbooks
Despite
retailers’ intent to increase investments in payments security, the
survey found a notable lack of urgency regarding the migration to chip &
PIN technology. EMV—Europay, MasterCard and Visa—is the global standard
for credit and debit card payments. The industry deadline for U.S.
retailers to adopt EMV technology is October 2015, at which point
retailers without EMV-enabled point-of-sale systems will become liable
for credit card fraud at their locations. Just 12 percent of retailer
respondents are already compliant, while 19 percent are confident they
will meet the October deadline.
“Data breaches are top-of-mind for retailers, which have already or are
planning to increase payment security spending, yet a sizable number of
those surveyed are not fully prepared for meeting EMV timelines. At the
same time, consumers want assurances that their data will never be
compromised when they make purchases,” said Lynn Holland, vice
president, ACI Worldwide. “Many retailing customers with which we speak
to are taking steps to address the EMV requirements, but like any major
undertaking, are trying to manage this along with other payment
security, IT and technology initiatives.”
All Eyes on Omni-channel
Over a third of respondents are
making omni-channel investments their top priority for 2015, although
they are divided on the best approach. Forty-one percent have different
technologies supporting different shopping channels, and 38 percent are
currently addressing all modes of shopping as a single experience.
Mobile payment acceptance is also top-of-mind for investments this year,
and respondents were particularly confident in Apple’s strategy. The
release of Apple Pay in late 2014 spurred renewed focus on the mobile
channel, and more than twice as many respondents selected Apple as the
champion of mobile payments over other key players including Google,
PayPal, and MCX.
Survey Methodology
The survey of 200 global retail and
technology industry professionals was conducted by ACI Worldwide at
NRF’s 104th Annual “Big Show” in New York City on January
12-13, 2015.
About ACI Worldwide
ACI Worldwide, the Universal
Payments company, powers electronic payments and banking for more
than 5,000 financial institutions, retailers, billers and processors
around the world. ACI software processes $13 trillion each day in
payments and securities transactions for more than 250 of the leading global
retailers, and 21 of the world’s 25 largest banks. Through our
comprehensive suite of software products and hosted services, we deliver
a broad range of solutions for payment processing; card and merchant
management; online
banking; mobile, branch and voice banking; fraud
detection; trade finance; and electronic
bill presentment and payment. To learn more about ACI, please visit www.aciworldwide.com.
You can also find us on Twitter @ACI_Worldwide.
© Copyright ACI Worldwide, Inc. 2015.
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Copyright Business Wire 2015