A new study by Forrester Research estimates that chip-and-pin signature technologies won't be "broadly adopted" in the U.S. until 2020, according to The Wall Street Journal. The findings temper misconceptions that the October EMV deadline will create sweeping and immediate change in the payment card industry. Instead, those transitions should be expected to happen incrementally over the next five years, at least. 

Steven Norton of the Journal explains that instead of effecting a seismic shift in the way retailers process payments, the EMV deadline will do more to influence liability in the event of security compromises. He also cautions observers against the notion that chip-and-pin authentication will eliminate vulnerabilities in payment processing. 

"But the switch to EMV doesn't necessarily protect against credit card numbers being stolen..." writes Norton. "And tokenization, a process that replaces sensitive cardholder information with a unique series of numbers use to identify customers, hasn't been widely adopted in the U.S. Card-based EMV also doesn't address card-not-present transactions, such as when a customer buys an item online."

Instead, experts advise merchants to view chip-and-pin signature technologies as a step in the right direction. Because magnetic strips will constitute the majority of card-based payments for the forseeable future, implementing best practices for existing platforms is at least as important as adopting a new system for payment processing. Protecting consumer data across channels becomes increasingly important as more channels become available to retailers and other merchants. 

Staying educated about trends and movement in the payment processing space can be challenging for businesses. With an experienced third-party service provider, merchants can gain the best insights for implementing payment processing systems. Contact Vantage today for a complimentary consultation about your business' needs and goals.