American Express launches campaign to help fight fraud

The nationwide campaign will help US small merchants fight fraud through a USD 10 million reimbursement program designed to accelerate adoption of EMV payment terminals. It will also arm small merchants with knowledge about EMV’s security benefits.

As part of American Express’ program, eligible merchants that have upgraded to an EMV terminal can request a one-time USD 100 reimbursement from American Express. The company will deliver educational resources about EMV to small merchants across the US through e-mail, a telephone hotline, and a website.

According to the American Express EMV Preparedness Survey, conducted in October 2014, more than two-thirds (67%) of small merchants surveyed indicated that protection against and prevention of payment-card fraud was very important to running their businesses. Furthermore, 52% reported that they feel they are at higher risk for payment card fraud than larger businesses, with nearly half of those small merchants citing a lack of money to invest in fraud prevention or a lack of access to experts who can assist them as the biggest reasons why.

In addition, more than a third of the surveyed small merchants said they either have not decided whether they will upgrade their payment terminals or they do not plan to upgrade their payment terminals. Of those small merchants, 57% cited the cost of terminals as the main reason.