It’s been a little more than a year since the October 2015 EMV liability shift took place. While major retailers like Macy’s, Walmart and Target have adopted the new technology, other businesses have hesitated to follow because they’re either afraid their customers will be frustrated by a slower checkout experience, they think the new equipment will be cost-prohibitive, or they’re content with their current credit card processing.

But the benefits of switching are clear for merchants and consumers. “At chip-enabled merchants, counterfeit fraud dropped 35 percent in March compared to a year earlier,” according to Visa’s 2016 statistics. Meanwhile businesses throughout Europe and Asia have adopted the technology. So maybe it’s time that you considered making your business EMV-compliant too.

Protect your business.

The EMV liability shift transfers the responsibility for chargebacks from issuing banks to merchants when fraudulent transactions—involving chip credit cards—occur unless the merchants are EMV compliant. Merchants are also at risk of losing money if their customers have to use the magnetic stripe on their credit or debit cards instead of the chip.

But capital isn’t all you’d be risking. You also have to consider your business reputation.

When an increasing number of fraudulent cases occur at a business, there’s a good chance that people are going to talk about it. This could jeopardize how consumers perceive your business, and you may lose their trust.

Protect your customers.

As of August 2016, 80 percent of MasterCard consumer credit cards in the U.S. have chips, “representing an 88 percent increase in chip card adoption since the October 1, 2015 liability shift started to bring EMV-secured payments to the U.S.,” according to the credit card issuer.

Consequently, a growing number of consumers prefer to use their chip cards to prevent their financial information from being stolen. You don’t want to lose customers because they’re worried this could happen when they shop at your store. They should trust the checkout process at your place of business rather than question it. Of course, to be compliant you will have to switch to EMV technology and your employees will have to adjust to new chip-enabled terminals, but the process will be worth it because your customers will feel confident about using their credit and debits cards to make purchases.

Considering the reasons for EMV compliance, you’ll recognize how it can benefit your business, your employees and your customers.

Want to find out where to get chip-enabled credit card processing solutions? Learn about the EMV terminal offered by Bevel Payment Solutions.