It’s hard to believe, but the vast majority of hotels in Canada in 2019 are still processing their hotel guests upon check-in using magnetic stripe technology.
This is a very risky approach!
EMV technology has been proven to be very effective against fraud. Visa reported that as of Sept 2018, EMV-compliant merchants saw counterfeit fraud drop by 80%.
Closer to home, we have seen similar results, with our merchants seeing a reduction of close to 92%!
It seems like a no brainer, but why haven’t more Albertan hotels migrated to EMV and adopted the latest technologies to help reduce their risk and exposure to losses on chargebacks?
It is most likely dues to one, or more, of the following factors:
- Their existing card payment processor does not have the EMV Solution built to be compatible with their Property Management System (PMS).
- As a result, some hotels may take the approach of ‘hanging-on’ with the hope that their existing processor is able to offer the EMV solution that they need sometime in the future.
- Some operators may not know there are alternative processors that have the EMV Chip & Pin solution available today that will integrate with their PMS systems.
- Others fear that changing processors will be a bumpy ride, and cause even more stress on their systems and front desk teams.
Effective October 17, 2020, ALL Point of Sales merchants (including hotels) must be EMV Chip & Pin enabled in Canada, as mandated by Visa Canada.
Haven’t made the switch to EMV Chip & Pin? National Payments is an industry leader in building payment-processing plans for the hospitality industry. Contact us today to learn how switching to EMV Chip and Pin can help your hotel.