Some businesses slept through the scare of the EMV liability shift deadline of October 2015, and are just now searching for the best EMV compliant point of sale (POS) system for their business. Other businesses that were well aware of the shift waited for their existing POS providers to offer EMV functionality, and are still waiting. Others are searching for the best alternative EMV compatible POS system before making the transition.

If you’re in this boat, that’s fine. The threat by the credit card associations of transferring liability for fraudulent charges to merchants that were EMV non-compliant probably didn’t work as well as planned. There were and still are no specific requirements or penalties for businesses to immediately adapt. So right now, non-compliance is just a gamble.

A gamble that may be justified. At least for the time being. While switching to EMV credit card terminals is a rather easy task for merchants with a basic cash register, integrating EMV terminals with POS systems is a different story.

POS and EMV aren’t necessarily birds of a feather. A lot of POS system providers continue to work out the kinks in accepting EMV smart chip cards. Purchasing new software and reprogramming credit card processing terminals is sometimes needed, and can be expensive.

In addition to the expense, this transition to EVM credit card processing capability can be a huge headache for a business’s operations. Frustration is a fact of life for many business owners that are dealing with this.

It’s understandable that merchants who’ve had a reliable POS in place for a long time don’t want to change. The old saying if it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it works for now, but sooner or later, there may be penalties or higher credit card processing rates for EMV non-compliance. Or, less likely but possible, a massive financial liability in the event that fraudulent transactions take place.

Unfortunate as it may be, merchants are sometimes at the mercy of their services providers. There are numerous industries that have POS systems built exclusively for their type of sales transactions and switching to another POS with EMV capability is not an option. If this is your situation, you may just have to wait it out.

Some of the EMV compatible POS systems providers that are currently available have an integrated credit card processor or have an exclusive partnership with a merchant account provider. Although seemingly convenient, merchants using these types of solutions are often forced to pay higher rates than offered by independent merchant account providers.

For merchants, it would be preferable to have a merchant account provider independent of the POS provider. By choosing the provider rather than being assigned a provider, merchants have the freedom to shop for better rates in the future. The savings from lower rates can be significant.

So what’s the best EMV compliant POS system? The answer is not so simple. The best EMV compatible POS system is the one that fits your business’s requirements best.

At The Transaction Group, we’ve been assisting businesses with their merchant account services needs since 2004. Although we have many connections in the payment processing world we do not have any exclusive relationships with POS systems providers. We can help you find the right POS f

We’re experts in merchant account services and can answer any questions you have, provide a credit card processing solution, or perform a rate analysis of your current merchant account and find out how much we can save your business.

If you’re shopping for a POS, we’d be glad to help you find the best EMV compatible POS system for your business’s needs. Contact us today at 888-383-8056.