What is dipping and tapping?

Magnetic-stripe credit cards have been around since the 1960s, and use the same technology as cassette tapes. The United States is actually one of the last countries on the planet that is still using them, and it is one of the reasons why the US leads the world in credit card fraud.

In an effort to catch up with the rest of the world, two technologies are quickly becoming the standard in credit card processing: EMV and NFC. Both of these technologies are much more secure than the old magnetic stripe credit cards.

EMV (dip)

EMV, or chip cards, have been around since the 1980s, and are accepted throughout the world.Chip cards have encryption built right into the card. Insert the credit card into the card reader/payment terminal (this is called dipping), and the computer chip inside the credit card communicates with the card reader. This communication is encrypted, which is why the transaction takes a little longer to authorize than an old magnetic stripe credit card.Most chip cards also have a magnetic stripe on the back, but if you process a transaction using the magnetic stripe, you are using the older, less secure method of processing the transaction.

NFC (tap)

NFC, or near field communication, allows credit cards, and smartphones to communicate with a card reader/payment terminal when they are in close proximity.An NFC credit card is equipped with an RFID chip (radio frequency identification chip). Hold the credit card near the card reader/payment terminal (this is called tapping), and the credit card communicates wirelessly with the card reader.NFC also includes mobile payments like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay. More and more people are paying for things using mobile payments.

What does this mean to your business?

  • You need a new credit card reader that accepts EMV and NFC payments - With new credit card readers, you can accept more secure forms of payment. This protects both you and your customers. The new card reader terminals must be either purchased or leased through OpenEdge, because a specific software must be installed on each card reader terminal.
  • You do not store credit card information in your database - When you put a card on file, the customer's credit card information is sent to OpenEdge. OpenEdge validates and saves the credit card information, and returns a token that is saved on your database. This token is used instead of the credit card information when a transaction is processed. Since OpenEdge stores the customer's credit card information, you get to shift the liability to OpenEdge.
  • There was a liability shift on October 1st, 2015 - If you aren't set up to accept EMV chip cards, the liability of some types of fraudulent transactions is now shifted to you. Basically, if a customer pays with a counterfeit chip card, and you process the card using the magnetic stripe, then you might be liable for that fraudulent transaction. Fraudulent charges on magnetic stripe credit cards, and fraudulent charges on EMV credit cards processed using an EMV card reader are still absorbed by the bank. This liability shift occurred on October 1st , 2015, and not one Evosus client has experienced counterfeit fraud.

How do you set up Evosus Card Services?

Setting up Evosus Card Services is part of the upgrade process. 

Decline Minimizer

Decline Minimizer from OpenEdge is a free service that automatically updates expired and outdated card information. For example, if a credit card on file expires, Decline Minimizer automatically updates the credit card information and processes the transaction. You can sign up for this free service when you set up your merchant account with OpenEdge.

  • Automatically works on all credit card transactions - Decline Minimizer automatically works on all credit card transactions processed in Evosus. For example, if you accept a credit card payment in POS using a card on file that is out of date, Decline Minimizer will automatically update the credit card information while processing the payment.
  • Manually update credit card information - You can also manually update card on file information using the Update From Decline Minimizer button (Customer > Open a customer with a card on file > Preview tab > Card On File button > Update From Decline Minimizer button).

Once you're set up you can do the following...

  • Process a credit card transaction 
  • Process a refund 
  • Add a card on file 
  • Force Authorization - An off-line/force authorization transaction is a transaction where you use a phone to verify the credit card information and authorize the transaction. You then enter the authorization number into POS and complete the transaction. You need to process an off-line/force authorization transaction if either of the following is true: you are instructed to ‘Call Issuer’ in the response of a transaction, or your internet connection is down, so processing a normal transaction is impossible.