What EMV Means for Fitness Business Owners

Credit card fraud has been a popular topic lately. Whether it’s a large corporation announcing a breach in its system putting customers’ personal information at risk, or tips to protect your personal data, the media has increased its focus on credit card security over the past several years.

Did you know that card issuers lost $3.4 billion and merchants lot an additional $1.9 billion in 2012 due to credit card fraud? In fact, credit card fraud has become so prevalent that a survey from Aite Group and ACI Worldwide found that 42% of Americans experienced some form of payment-card fraud in the past five years.

In an effort to combat this nasty epidemic, an important new piece of credit card technology will soon be released in the U.S., called EMV. EMV technology, which stands for “Europay, Mastercard and Visa”, will be released nationwide on October 1st. This technology, which has been used for many years in Europe, as well as other places around the world, utilizes a microchip on credit cards to combat fraud. [clearfix]

How Does EMV Impact Business Owners?

As a fitness business owner, there’s a good chance that you accept credit card payments from your valued members. How will EMV technology impact your business? Zen Planner’s has been keeping a close eye on this technology. PaySimple prepared an informative article that provides more information on the new technology, how it works and most importantly, how it will impact business owners.

They have also created a helpful infographic explaining the benefits of using an EMV compatible reader, which can be seen below. Have additional questions or concerns about how the transition to EMV will impact your fitness business? Our Customer Success team can help. Current customers can reach the team by phone or email, seven days a week.

Are you manually collecting and depositing checks from members at your school, studio or gym every month? Implementing a member management solution with automated billing can benefit both you and your members. Discover how automated billing can impact your business, as well as how to set it up in our Guide to Automated Billing.