Sterling Payment Technologies Announces Free ‘Chip' Payment Card Protection Plan For Businesses

Payments Processor to Provide Up to $2,000 of Liability Coverage for Many Merchants That Missed Today’s Deadline for EMV Card Acceptance

With today’s deadline for U.S. businesses to accept EMV credit and debit card transactions or face liability for fraud, many of America’s small and mid-sized businesses are unprepared and at risk. Sterling Payment Technologies, which has helped thousands of businesses with EMV solutions, recently announced an innovative protection program to support those still working toward EMV acceptance.

Sterling, a leading provider of electronic payment services with deep ties to the restaurant, hospitality and retail industries, today announced its no-cost EMV protection program, which will cover businesses unprepared for today’s EMV credit card liability shift for up to $2,000 in fraudulent charges as they work to implement a compliant processing system.

After today, U.S. businesses will face liability for many fraudulent charges made with “magnetic stripe” credit or debit cards that were counterfeited, lost or stolen. The shift toward EMV cards, which contain a computer chip, is designed to reduce fraud where cards are used in person (or “card-present”) by making such cards much more difficult to produce or fraudulently use. A July Wells Fargo survey indicated that less than half of small business owners were aware of the shift, let alone prepared.

“Our business is built around providing small and mid-sized businesses with the same payments capabilities and management intelligence that larger companies enjoy,” said Paul Hunter, president and CEO of Sterling Payment Technologies. “The transition to EMV cards has put these businesses at a disadvantage. We’re launching this program to provide customers with peace of mind as they transition to the right EMV solution to meet their specific payment needs.”

Sterling’s protection plan will apply to both current and new clients in a wide range of industries and geographies across the United States. Eligible businesses will automatically receive the protection plan as they work with Sterling or an authorized reseller to design and implement an EMV-ready payments system. Merchants processing “card-not-present” transactions, such as mail order, telephone order, and Internet merchants, are not affected.

For some small businesses, the EMV transition can be as simple as replacing or upgrading existing equipment and software to read the chip-enabled cards. But many restaurants, bars, retailers and other businesses depend on more sophisticated point-of-sale (POS) systems to manage not only payments, but also critical business functions like inventory, scheduling and promotions.

“We’re hoping the protection program prevents business owners from hastily adding EMV and ending up with a less-than-perfect solution for their business,” Hunter said. “By providing coverage past the deadline, we can help ensure that anyone unprepared is evaluating the best options, taking the right path to compliance, and adding business intelligence.”

The program provides similar peace of mind for Sterling’s POS reseller partners, who can extend the program to their customers as they work to develop and implement ideal EMV solutions.

For more information, visit www.sterlingpayment.com/emvhelp.

Additionally, business owners seeking a qualified reseller or developer to help them design and deploy an EMV-ready POS system compatible with Sterling can visit www.ShopPOS.com/EMV, the nation’s most advanced web portal for help locating point-of-sale developers and resellers.

About Sterling Payment Technologies
Sterling offers a complete range of electronic payment services, including EMV solutions, credit, debit, and gift card programs. Sterling is an expert in quick and easy payment integration services to accounting systems, ERP systems, POS developers and resellers, including P2P encryption, tokenization, out of scope solutions, mobile payment solutions, cloud-based POS reporting platforms, and unique financing solutions for POS and B2B payment applications. A full range of developer tools and an expert developer support team are available 24/7. Sterling has been voted a Best Channel Vendor for the last 7 years.