Credit Cards

EMV liability shift

Under rules instituted by MasterCard, Visa, American Express and Discover, as of Oct. 1, 2015, in-store counterfeit fraud liability shifted to the party — either the card issuing financial institution or the merchant — that had not adopted EMV technology. Before, credit card issuers were primarily responsible for covering fraud affecting consumer accounts. While issuers will still reverse charges for fraud victims, they may now seek reimbursement from the merchant or merchant acquirer if the merchant had not installed EMV-compatible equipment when fraudulent charges were made on an EMV card.