Novera Payment Solutions

With the liability shift quickly approaching in October of 2015, it is a good idea for merchants to have the EMV security measure in place. While compliance is not mandatory for merchants, those who don’t upgrade to EMV-compliant terminals face a liability shift for fraudulent transactions. Integrated payment solutions that combine software with the latest payment processing systems (including EMV capabilities) are the best choice for merchants.

As an ISV, Novera's WorldPay Link Gateway provides the opportunity for you to easily integrate EMV-compliant  payments into mobile, P.O.S., and even QuickBooks® processing solutions, it can even utilize multiple processor platforms. This new gateway makes it easy for merchants to accept payments anywhere they do business.

For ISV's the benefits are many, including:

• Customized Merchant Boarding
• Dedicated ISV Team
• Flexible Merchant Pricing
• Revenue Sharing
• No Risk
• Reporting Portal
• Branded Referral Portal
• Complete Marketing Support
• Increased User Adoption
• World Class platform
• 24 X 7 US Based Support

Our robust API includes:

• Oracle Database with 99.999% Uptime
• Debit, Credit, Check, ACH
• Gift & Loyalty
• Retail Finance Cards
• Auth.net emulation
• QuickBooks® Integration
• Processor Neutral

With the WorldPay Link Gateway API, you can :

Enjoy Peace of Mind with the EMV Transition

The Novera Payment Solutions team understands that protecting your business and your customers is very important. You will be provided the tools and support you need to help simplify your PCI obligations and EMV integration to reduce the risk of fraud.


Our customers span local retailers, restaurants and corner stores to dentists, plumbers and eCommerce merchants—and every one of them can rely on the 24/7 live, US-based support staff who are highly trained to answer questions and resolve any issues that may arise.

A Company You Can Trust

Novera Payment Solutions, LLC (Novera) based in Atlanta is a registered Member Service Provider (MSP) of WorldPay. and a registered Independent Sales Organization (ISO) with Visa & MasterCard.   WorldPay acquires transactions coast to coast and around the globe ranging from brand name companies you already know to independent businesses in your own community. Point of sale authorization through settlement of funds, WorldPay provides the highest standard of payment processing to businesses ...businesses just like yours. WorldPay also offers seamless support and integration with industry-leading point-of-sale platforms and middleware providers, and it works with POS providers to certify new systems to their network on a ongoing basis.

How does EMV apply to payment gateways?

Some merchants connect to their payment processor through a payment gateway. Gateways used for card-present transactions will also need to undergo EMV testing and certification. Note that eCommerce payment gateways, which operate in a card-not-present environment, will not need changes for EMV.

What should merchants consider before making a POS device purchase?

Merchants should understand EMV-compatible POS device capabilities. POS devices that incorporate the EMV standard will be able to use up to four cardholder verification methods:

• Signature
• Online PIN
• Offline PIN
• No CVM

Determine if the new POS device that you’re considering will have contactless payment capabilities. Many POS devices bundle EMVcapable and contactless (NFC) payment features. This may allow you not only more secure transactions but also more ways to accept payments in the manner your customers want to pay.

What is my timeline for establishing EMV acceptance?

The payment network rules do not require you to switch to an EMV card acceptance process; however, if you do not switch to an EMV card acceptance process by October 1, 2015, you will be held responsible for the costs associated with use of a counterfeit EMV card in a card present transaction at your location.

We recommend that businesses upgrade their POS equipment to a version that is EMV “future ready.”

• For most merchants October 1, 2015, is the deadline for EMV acceptance capabilities
• For petroleum merchants using automated fuel dispensers (AFDs) October 1, 2017, is the deadline for EMV acceptance capabilities

How can a Non-EMV-compatible device accept an EMV card for payment?

EMV cards issued to US cardholders will be hybrid versions, meaning the card will have a magnetic stripe on back and chip on front. As a result, EMV cards presented for payment can still be accepted at a non-EMV-compatible POS device (payment terminal).

Is PCI DSS compliance still necessary after EMV POS devices are implemented in my business?

Yes. PCI DSS examine the payment environment and evaluate how your business accesses, transports or even stores cardholder data. PCI DSS compliance will remain a requirement.

Is end-to-end encryption (E2EE) still relevant with the introduction of EMV chipcards?

Yes. The chip in an EMV card protects individual transactions by adding a secret number only the card issuer knows, which verifies that the transaction is legitimate through an EMV-compatible POS device. However, EMV is not designed to encrypt the sensitive card information (Account Number, Exp. Date, etc.). Therefore, it is still possible for thieves to duplicate card data and create counterfeit cards that can be swiped for use at businesses that haven’t upgraded to EMV-compatible or EMV-enable POS devices or could be used with online retailers. Encryption removes this cardholder data for your POS device, which simplifies the scope of your PCI DSS obligations.

Merchants who participate in Worldpay’s E2EE program receive an indemnity waiver of up to $100,000 in total—which includes up to $30,000 in approved compromise associated costs, such as forensic audits and fines, as part of Worldpay’s PCI Program , plus an additional $70,000 if you experience a compromise as a result of the failure of Worldpay’s E2EE equipment to encrypt when used properly. Note, not all card transaction types are available for the E2EE service, and additional terms and conditions apply so contact your Worldpay representative if you are interested in learning more.

EMV capabilities along with E2EE are a great combination for highly secure payment acceptance.

What role will EMV have in payments for the online, card-not-present environment? (Internet purchases)

Currently, the EMV standard exists solely for the card-present, face-to-face environment. Worldpay will work closely with the card associations to monitor any new requirements for card-not-present transactions.

What is Worldpay’s EMV status?

• Worldpay completed certification with all major card brand networks in 2013 (Visa, MasterCard, Discover & American Express)
• Worldpay back-office systems incorporated EMV updates into the October 2014 Fall Release system updates
• Worldpay’s EMV-compatible standalone POS device solutions are available now and incorporate NFC (contactless) capabilities too: VX 520 and VX 680 (wireless terminal). Soft ware to enable EMV will be released by Worldpay before the October 1, 2015, deadline
• Testing and certification with Worldpay POS vendors is under way

 If you have additional questions, contact Novera Payment Solutions. We’re happy to help.

What makes EMV transactions secure?

Card authentication, cardholder verification and transaction authorization processes are all enhanced with EMV. Specifically:

Card Authentication: Is the card real? Unique data for each transaction travels between card, the POS device and issuer to ensure authenticity. EMV transactions also create unique transaction data, making captured transaction data incapable of being used to execute additional, new transactions.

Cardholder Verification Method (CVM): This step validates the cardholder as the legitimate owner of the card, using verification parameters set up by the issuer. The issuer of the card determines which of the following four methods will be required for a particular transaction: online PIN, offl ine PIN, signature or no CVM required. EMV supports each of these four verification methods.

Transaction Authorization: Like today’s magnetic stripe transactions, transaction information is sent to the issuer for approval. What’s different is a transaction-specific cryptogram (code) is also sent to the issuer who then either approves or declines the transaction and sends a unique response cryptogram back to the POS device for the card to interpret and validate the transaction. The dynamic exchange of information needed to execute each transaction provides the extra security missing from the static, old technology used in magnetic stripe transactions.

How many US credit cards will be EMV-enabled by the end of 2015?

The Aite Group predicts 70% of US credit cards will be EMV-enabled by the end of 2015. It also predicts there will be 4.5 million EMVcapable payment terminals in the US market by the end of 2014, and growing to nearly 7 million terminals by end of 2015. (The Aite Group, LLC, is an organization that provides research and advisory services focused on business, technology, and regulatory issues and their impact on the financial services industry.)

What are the key benefits of moving to the EMV standard?

• Improves transaction security for credit and debit card-present environments
• Creates common cardholder experience globally
• Supports multiple methods of cardholder verification (signature, pin, etc.), providing flexibility of payment acceptance without sacrificing security
• Bundles emerging technologies - POS devices with chip technology are often grouped with NFC (contactless) and mobile; EMV adoption accelerates merchant capabilities to accept payments in new ways

When can US businesses expect customers to begin presenting EMV chip cards for payment?

Now. The Smart Card Alliance/EMV Migration Forum in May 2014 estimated chip cards in the US total between 17 and 20 million. It’s important for businesses to develop EMV POS equipment adoption plans now.

Should merchants upgrade or buy new POS hardware and PIN pad devices?

Review existing POS equipment or systems to learn if upgrades are possible or whether new EMV-compatible POS hardware must be purchased.

Standalone POS. The only job of stand-alone POS is to authorize and clear payment card transactions and it is the easiest EMV solution to implement.

• Is your POS device EMV compatible? (Does it have a slot for EMV cards? EMV-compatible terminals have a slot, typically located at the bottom of the terminal, into which the EMV chip card is inserted and read; this slot is different from the side swipe used with magnetic stripe cards.)
• If POS EMV compatible, will you need to schedule a service call to have EMV software installed or will a remote software download be available? (Ask your payment processor—which is Worldpay if we do your payment processing)
• Worldpay’s standalone EMV solutions: POS VX 520 terminal and VX 680 wireless terminal. A remote EMV software download will be scheduled before the October 1, 2015, liability shift.

What is EMV?

EMV is an open-standard set of specifications that ensures functionality between smart chip cards and payment t erminals. EMV originated as a joint effort among Europay, MasterCard® and Visa® to improve payment safety through better card security and improved standards. Today, EMVco is owned by Visa, UnionPay, MasterCard, JCB, Discover and American Express. Payments industry organizations participate with EMVco as technical and business associates. Worldpay is a business associate in EMVco. Find more information at www.emvco.com

How are chip cards different from existing magnetic stripe card technology?

The EMV “chip” is a secure microprocessor built into a card or other payment devices (e.g. mobile wallet on smart phone). The chip generates a unique number for each sales transaction, making it extremely difficult to use a cloned card fraudulently on a card-present transaction. Magnetic stripe cards use static cardholder data that remains the same for every transaction, which makes them attractive targets for theft , cloning and use in card fraud. In addition to strong security features, chip technology includes other capabilities—like Near Field Communications (NFC) technology—which lets merchants accommodate both contact and contactless payments.

Why are EMV chip cards being promoted as a payment standard in the US?

EMV chip cards are already well-established outside the US, particularly in Europe. Crime migrates to the easiest targets, which right now includes the US. Upgrading to the EMV standard is anticipated to greatly reduce card fraud here in the US.

Why will more US merchants move to the EMV standard in 2015?

Beginning October 1, 2015, the major card networks agreed to shift financial responsibility for losses due to counterfeit card-present card fraud to the party using the least secure technology. Merchants that want to avoid this liability should implement EMV chip technology in their point-of-sale (POS) devices before the deadline. Chip and PIN payment devices are deemed most secure for card-present transactions. Ask Worldpay if you need help making decisions about EMV POS device purchases.

What does the financial liability shift mean and how will that affect my business?

Merchants who don’t use EMV capable—and enabled—POS equipment aft er October 1, 2015 will be responsible for card-present fraud losses in the following instances:

• Counterfeit EMV card: Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express move liability to the merchant
• Lost or stolen card: American Express, Discover and MasterCard move liability to the merchant; Visa keeps liability with the issuer

Please note a chip and PIN terminal provides the most secure transaction environment available today.

If you have any questions about the EMV transition, contact Novera Payment Solutions. We are here to make the transition as easy as possible for our clients.

Just because we know you've always been curious about what all that "stuff" is on your credit card front and back, we thought we'd give a basic anatomy lesson. A few facts may surprise you, like did you know that VISA card numbers ALWAYS start with the number 4?  Read on!

1. Bank Name
Typically a bank name appears at the top of your credit card. This represents the bank that is lending you money via the credit card transaction, not the company that processes the payments. For exmaple, your VISA or MasterCard will have a bank name at the top ... the bank is the entity lending the money and VISA or MasterCard is the processor.The exception is with American Express or Discover ... they are both the bank lending you money and the processor.

2. Computer Chip
The computer chip is being phased in to United States issued credit cards to improve security and reduce fraud. The credit cards containing chips are called EMV cards. EMV cards are more secure because the computer chip generates a unique code for every transaction you make, whereas the magnetic stripe has static data that can be stolen and re-used. During the phase in, cards will have both, the computer chip AND the magentic strip on the back, but ultimately the magnetic strip will go away.

3. Account Number
The account numer is made up from a series of complex algorithms and each series of numbers has very specific meanings. The details are way too much information to go into here. However, you may be interested to know that the very first number on the card is the "Major Industry Identifier." You can tell what kind of card it is from the first number if you know that all Visa cards start with a 4, MasterCards start with a 5, Discover cards start with 6, and American Express cards start with a 3.

4. Cardholder Name
Credit cards will also have the first and last name of the cardholder or the organization that is associated with the account. Online transactions typically require the name on the card to
exactly match the cardholder name as an added layer of security.

5. Hologram
The hologram displays a three-dimensional image on the two-dimensional surface. This was introduced to help prevent counterfieting of credit cards.

6. Expiration Date or Valid Thru Date
This indicates the last month and year the credit card can be used. Some banks include a day of the month, but typically it's just the month and year.  The day (not shown) is the last day of the month.

7. Magnetic Stripe
Magnetic stripes on credit cards come in three colors colors black, brown or sliver.  They have up to three tracks. The first two tracks contain the card holder data necessary to complete the transactions.  With the new EMV credit cards, magnetic stripes will ultimately be phased out.

8. Signature Strip
Credit cards must be signed to be valid. When you sign the strip it gives businesses an extra tool to guard against fraud, because they can see whether the signature on the cardmatches the one on the receipt.

The signature stripe also includes the credit card security code (CVV or CIV code) on Visa and MasterCard cards. This also provides additional security against credit card fraud because you have to have the card in hand to see the code.

About Novera Payment Solutions

Novera Payment Solutions is a leader in the credit card payments industry. We are committed to helping businesses improve their bottom line by providing significant savings on credit card processing fees through our innovative and trasparent flat fee merchant account pricing models. We are confident we can save your business money on credit card processing fees!

What is an EMV Credit Card?

In light of several recent major data breaches, you may have heard the term "EMV credit card" used in news reports. When it was created, EMV stood for Europay, MasterCard and Visa. It is a global standard for credit cards equipped with computer chips, as well as technology used to authenticate chip-card transactions. Simply put, this technology better protects consumers and makes it more difficult for people to counterfeit cards and commit fraudulent activities.

According to EMV Connection, today EMVCo manages, maintains and enhances the EMV specifications. EMVCo is jointly owned by American Express, Discover, JCB, MasterCard, UnionPay, and Visa, and includes other organizations from the payments industry participating as technical and business associates. Information on the specifications and organization is available at http://www.emvco.com.

What Makes EMV Cards Different

When you look at your credit card, if you see a small metallic square, that's a computer chip and it is what makes the card an EMV card. The basic difference between traditional credit cards with magnetic stripes and EMV cards with computer chips is that the magnetic strip cards hold static data and the computer chipped EMV cards hold dynamic data.

If the magnetic stripe card is compromised, the data can be used over and over again because it doesn't change. This makes it easy for fraudsters to profit from stolen card holder data. For the EMV card computer chip, with each transaction, a unique transaction code is generated and cannot be used again. That means if the credit card data is stolen from a single sale or transaction, the next time it is used, the card would simply be denied because the transaction code is no longer valid. This makes it much more difficult for nefarious people to profit from stolen card holder data.

What Does this Mean to Me?

For merchants and financial institutions, the switch to EMV means adding new in-store technology and internal processing systems, as well as complying with new liability regulations. For consumers, the switch to EMV means receiving and activating new credit cards and learning new payment processes.

The fundamental difference in the way the cards are used is with the magnetic stripe the consumer swipes the card through a terminal for the data to be read. With the new EMV cards, the consumer will "dip" the card in a terminal slot and wait for it to be processed. It is a little slower than the magnetic stripe swipe, so consumers will need to get accustomed to it. Technology also exists called "contactless card reading" where the consumer taps the card against a terminal scanner to be read. However this "contactless" technology is not as prevalent in the United States as of today.

When is the EMV Shift Going to Happen?

The shift to EMV technology has already started. This first issuance of EMV cards will have both technologies, magnetic stripe and the computer chip, but will ultimately transition to the computer chip only. The deadline set by major U.S. credit card issuers MasterCard, Visa, Discover and American Express is October 1, 2015. That doesn't mean that EVERYONE is going to be transitioned by then, but what it does mean is that the fraud burden shifts on that date. Any parties not EMV-ready by October 2015 may face much higher costs in the event of a large data breach. Basically the liability will shift to whoever is the least EMV-compliant party in a fraudulent transaction.

Are You Ready for EMV?

Novera Payment Solutions will continue to publish blogs on this topic because it's important for you as a merchant to be aware of your requirements and your potential liabilities. If you have questions about EMV, please don't hesitate to contact us. Our job is make the transition as easy as possible for merchants.

About Novera Payment Solutions

Novera Payment Solutions is a leader in the credit card payments industry. We are committed to helping businesses improve their bottom line by providing significant savings on credit card processing fees through our innovative and trasparent flat fee merchant account pricing models.