How Does the U.S. Migration to EMV Chip Payments Impact Healthcare?

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Sept. 10, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. is migrating to EMV chip technology to prevent counterfeit card fraud, and to offer advanced security for card-present payments. It will also positively impact the healthcare industry, and to help stakeholders better understand why, as well as how to prepare for the migration, the Smart Card Alliance released today a white paper, "EMV 101 for the Healthcare Industry."

Click here to download the white paper: http://www.smartcardalliance.org/publications-emv-101-for-the-healthcare-industry/.

"In healthcare, providers and health systems need to consider how chip technology can impact their business. Migrating to chip is a choice, not a mandate, so to make an informed decision they need to understand what chip technology is, how the fraud liability shift¹ will impact them and how to prepare to migrate to chip once they've made their decision," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "This white paper is a great place to start as it will provide healthcare stakeholders with the foundation necessary to better understand and successfully implement chip payments."

This white paper, developed by the Alliance's Health and Human Services Council, is written for physicians, dentists, orthodontists, other providers and hospital systems, and answers the following questions:

• What is chip technology and why is it important for card-present payment transactions?
• What is the impact of chip technology on healthcare providers and hospital systems?
• How can healthcare providers and hospital systems prepare for chip technology?

The white paper also recommends these online resources to help the healthcare industry better understand chip technology:

• GoChipCard.com – the go-to resource for easy-to-understand educational content on chip technology for consumers, merchants and issuers, created by the EMV Migration Forum and the Payments Security Task Force
• EMV-Connection.com – the Smart Card Alliance and EMV Migration Forum website that provides up-to-date information for all industry stakeholders on the status of EMV migration, along with tutorials and educational resources that will assist with migration

This white paper, "EMV 101 for the Healthcare Industry," was developed by the Smart Card Alliance Health and Human Services Council. Council members participating in the development of the white paper included: ABnote; First Data Corporation; LifeMed ID Inc.; NXP Semiconductors; XTec, Incorporated. For more information on the Health and Human Services Council, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/activities-councils-health-and-human-services/.

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.

Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.

¹ Beginning in October 2015, if a business accepts a magnetic stripe card that was counterfeited with track data copied from an EMV chip card, and the merchant has a POS terminal that is not EMV chip-enabled, the acquirer/business may be liable for the fraudulent transaction.