Square Makes EMV Transactions Faster In The US

Square, the digital payments company, announced on Wednesday (Aug. 15) that it delivered on its pledge to make EMV transactions faster in the U.S.

In a press release, the company said sellers in the U.S. can now process chip cards in just two seconds on Square Reader, for contactless and chip, and Square Register.

“Since chip cards arrived in the U.S., we have focused on making our chip reader fast for our sellers, and three seconds or more wasn’t quick enough,” said Jesse Dorogusker, head of hardware operations at Square. “Taking an EMV payment in as little as two seconds helps speed up the line for our sellers, gives time back to their customers and reduces in-store fraud in the U.S. Square sellers don’t need to compromise performance to reap the benefits of newer, more secure technology like EMV.”

According to the company, Square reached the speed reduction by working with partners at the payment networks to implement Quick Chip and M/Chip technology, which reduces the contact transaction time by prioritizing the parts of transactions that are critical to security. The new technology enables cardholders to remove their card immediately once the reading is complete without waiting for the issuer to respond. What’s more, Square said sellers in the U.S. and Canada can now skip collecting signatures on all card transactions.

“In today’s busy, on-demand world, Visa is focused on ensuring payments is one area that does not slow us down, helping our merchant and retail partners offer fast, easy and secure experiences at the point of sale,” said Stephanie Ericksen, vice president, global risk products, Visa. “Visa is pleased that with Square’s latest upgrades, merchants can speed up service at checkout and help customers get on their way a bit quicker.”