Visa delays fuel dispenser EMV deadline

Visa will delay the EMV liability shift deadline for U.S. automatic fuel dispensers to accept chip cards from Oct. 1, 2020, to April 17, 2021. The responsibility for fraudulent transactions will shift to fuel retailers that have not upgraded their dispensers to the new standard.

The change in date is in response to letters NACS, PMAA, SIGMA and NATSO sent to the four credit card networks—Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover—that manage the EMV liability shift. The letters requested the October deadline be delayed given the shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders because of the coronavirus pandemic.

"The EMV delay comes at a time when convenience stores' main objective is keeping stores open to meet the essential needs of their customers and communities. We are glad to see Visa recognize the unequivocal economic impact coronavirus is having on businesses, and we hope the other major networks will follow suit," said Anna Ready Blom, director of government relations for Alexandria, Va/-based NACS.

Industry letters requesting a delay in the deadline pushed Visa and the other card brands to wait to set a new deadline until the crisis has passed. Foster City, Calif.-based Visa instead opted to set the new deadline six months after the original Oct. 1, 2020, date.