Retailers

Q - What do I need to do to my current Epos system in preparation for the migration to chip and pin?

If you have a PDQ machine independent from your PoS system for processing card transactions you do not have to do anything. The bank that supplied the PDQ will automatically update your machine to accept chip and PIN cards.

If you have an EPoS system with integrated card payment process facility incorporating a card reader you need to contact the original supplier of the system. Your system will have to be upgraded to include a PIN pad with integrated card reader and a software upgrade to communicate the information to your till system.

Your software supplier will have a recommended solution for your retail environment and a unit that has been tested and approved by the Banks.

If you need any help or further information please contact us, we are able to advise you of the best solution for your business.

Resellers

Q - What do I need to do to my current EPoS offering and how will I integrate chip and PIN in to my existing system?

There is a 2 pronged answer to this as it depends who writes the EFT part of the software you are currently using.

If you have written your own EFT software to process card payments:
Changes need to be made to the EFT part of your software to process the new information required for chip and PIN payment transactions and to interface to the new hardware.

Once you have chosen the hardware platform that best suits your customer base and made the appropriate changes to your software you need to obtain 'acquirers certification' from your bank.

If you use a 3rd party EFT software:

You need to amend your PoS software in conjunction with the 3rd party EFT software vendor to effectively communicate with the new chip and PIN hardware. The EFT software company will have updated their software to work with a chosen hardware platform and they will advise you of which platform to use.

With the help of your software vendor you then have to gain acquirer's certification from your bank.

Q - What if I only supply PoS systems and rely on the retailer to get a PDQ machine for card payments?

Then you will not have to do anything because the Banks will automatically upgrade the retailers PQD to make it compliant with chip and PIN.

Q - How do I select the appropriate chip and PIN hardware platform?

During the selection of a hardware platform there are a number of key things you need to consider. This list is not exhaustive.

• Cost - how much budget are you prepared to allocate to the system upgrade verses how future proof is the system you are choosing? You can go for a cost effective option by keeping your existing MCR and just integrating a smart card reader with PIN pad. However if the chip reading fails the checkout operator has to remove the card from the smart card reader and re swipe it through the MCR located on the keyboard or the terminal. In a busy retail environment this could result in long queues and delays at the checkout.
• Future proof - how long do you want the solution to last? Do you just want a system to bridge the gap until full chip and PIN comes into effect in 2005. Ultimately card operation at the point of sale will be totally down to the card holder and the card will not leave their hands. Choosing a system now that is not customer facing and customer operated could result in extra hardware costs at a later date.
• Footfall - how busy is the retail environment and the implications of having a system that may require 2 card actions (1 to read the chip and 1 to read the magnetic stripe if that fails). A unit that reads the chip or the mag card in one insertion could save vital minutes at the check out during busy times and prevent unnecessary queuing.
• What you currently have - if you already have a mag card reader you can choose a smart card reader with pin pad to reduce the upgrade costs.
• Counter area - In a retail environment where counter space is at a premium you need to consider which hardware platform you can physically fit into the area. Some units can be wall mounted others are integrated in the existing PoS system therefore removing it from the customers sight completely.
• Loyalty - Do you want to maximise on your investment by incorporating a loyalty scheme using the new hardware platform you have chosen. In that case you need a powerful pin pad and card reader capable of running such application, not all of them can do this.

One thing to remember is that every time you make a hardware change you have to obtain acquirer certification from the bank each time.