Liquor of Liquor Store Associations in the United States

 Nice list of the various state and national liquor store associations in the United States (non control states only). Looks like UBRA in Arkansas was missed tho...

If there are any other liquor store associations missing from the list, please contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com

The Continued Saga of EMV in the US and Things to be Aware of

Quite a few studies and articles have been posted this week related to EMV in the US and how it relates to retail point of sale systems.  I'll link to the articles below but here are some bullet points:

• Watch for POS systems that use the old Mag Stripe Readers - these are generally not compatible with chip cards and most payment processing companies no longer support these devices for security reasons.
• Look out for solutions that say that the hardware/software is "EMV Ready" - these systems can not yet actually process chip cards.
• It looks like around 40% (or more) of retailers do not yet have equipment that can process EMV/chip cards.
• A good example of a solution that is true EMV (I've tested and installed multiple times myself) is Card Defender for Microsoft Dynamics RMS and Cloud Retailer (specialty retail point of sale software).  These systems are tested, certified, and even can be upgraded as new payment security requirements are introduced.

Do contact me at kevinantosh@gmail.com or 208-340-5632 with any questions about EMV, Retail POS, Card Defender or Cloud Retailer.

Here are the articles - note that these are on a well known industry web site (Business Solutions Magazine) with point of sale technology news and information. Free registration is required to view the whole article:

https://www.bsminfo.com/doc/emv-in-us-still-has-a-long-way-to-go-0001

https://www.bsminfo.com/doc/why-emv-payment-integrations-aren-t-easy-0001

https://www.bsminfo.com/doc/remove-cost-and-time-as-barriers-to-emv-upgrades-0001

EMV Adaption News in The US

EMV adoption rates in the US continue to be around 50/50 for retailers in the United States for various reasons but it appears that the EMV adoption rates in US retail stores of all sizes will increase to 90 percent in 2017.  Obviously this would be great for retailers and consumers alike.

The full article can be found here: https://pointofsale.com/2016041510657/Payment-Processing/Todays-EMV-Landscape-at-Retail-in-the-United-States.html

I've personally seen a lot of smaller retailers contacting me in Q4 about EMV solutions like Card Defender as there are starting to see fraud as well as requests from consumers to have customer facing payment terminals so the stores employee's never come in to contact with the consumers credit or debit card.

The True Cost of Ignoring EMV

Update July 2016: Since many Microsoft RMS point of sale software would like to keep using RMS for another couple of years but still need to deal with the EMV Liability Shift Date, visit this post for more information on the Card Defender EMV add-on for Microsoft RMS versions 1.3 and higher (and HQ as well): http://retailpospondering.blogspot.com/2016/06/card-defender-emv-add-on-for-microsoft.html

I've had a few businesses and organizations mention to me that they plan to do nothing related to the EMV Liability Shift Date coming up on October 1st, 2015 in the US in relation on how to accept and authorize chip based credit and debit cards for payment.

Their mindset is that it is not worth investing money in new hardware and software to accept the new chip cards as the businesses average transaction is only around $30.00. Thus, it would be OK to lose $30.00 in sales revenue via a fraudulent transaction versus spending money on hardware and software upgrades.

These folks are forgetting the following:

• Cost of a chargeback (read your merchant services agreement but just about all merchant services companies charge you a chargeback fee for fraudulent transactions).
• Cost of bad press - any sort of fraud will likely be picked up by the local media or even shared via social media and review sites like Yelp.  Bad press + bad reputation = more lost revenue.
• Easy target. If word gets out that your business or organization is not using EMV/Chip Card hardware, then you could become a target for future fraudulent transactions.
• Loss of ability to accept any debit and credit cards as payment. I have seen this happen - too much fraud and no one will offer you merchant services. You will become a cash only business or have to use Square or similar more expensive options.

The EMV Liability Shift Date is not something to be ignored. We still have several months to plan and budget for any equipment upgrades or replacements as well as any software upgrade costs.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

EMV Affects Everyone

I was talking to a restaurant using a MICROS point of sale system and the owner mentioned to me that upgrading his MICROS software and hardware to meet the EMV liability shift deadline (October 1st, 2015 in the United States) was not going to be cheap!

With so much focus on legacy point of sale systems like Microsoft Dynamics RMS, it is easy to forget that everyone who accepts card present transactions needs to be doing something related to the upcoming EMV liability shift deadline or be prepared to absorb the full cost of a fraudulent transaction.

I can't stress enough how important it is to be sure that your cash register, credit card terminal, point of sale software, and/or point of sale hardware is upgraded and ready for the October 1st, 2015 deadline.

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

Which Locales Can I Help

Just a quick note that I am only able to help folks whose business or organization are located in the United States or Canada. Due to differences in currency, tax structures, areas that software is sold and supported, and grammar/languages, I'm not familiar with the various point of sale systems sold outside of the US and Canada.

Undercover Boss - Again with Point of Sale Issues

I believe that this is my third post related to an episode of the CBS TV series "Undercover Boss" where segments of the episode includes problems and issues related to a point of sale system. In the most recent episode, True Value CEO Jon Hartman goes undercover posing as an employee. Whether you believe the show is part reality/part acting or all staged, here are some issues related to the point of sale system mentioned in the episode (note that I have worked with businesses similar to True Value in the past - including some Coast to Coast hardware stores and independent locally owned hardware stores):

1. Unable to look up stock/special orders while working with a customer on the sales floor
2. Point of sale system 'crashing'
3. Learning curve
4. Ability to count back change

So, what should the folks at the various stores do about this? Here is my (free and unbiased) advice to them:

1. The ability to look up stock and/or place special orders varies from system to system. At the very least, the point of sale systems that I have provided to hardware stores allow for a 'station' to be setup on the sales floor so employees can look up stock information and place special orders without the customer having to go to a checkout lane.  More advanced point of sale systems also the use of mobile devices and hand held computers to check stock, place special orders, and accept payment right from the device itself (sell anywhere - this also works great in garden centers and nurseries as well).
2. If the point of sale system is crashing, then get your IT staff and point of sale provider together to locate the source of the problem. Make sure all your hardware and software is up to date as well. Don't forget that 'dirty' power can cause problems as well. A simple line conditioner can work wonders if 'dirty' power is an issue.
3. It should never take more than 15 minutes to train a cashier on how to use a point of sale system unless the point of sale system is poorly designed.
4. If the change back display is not showing then there is a design flaw in the point of sale system (plus - everyone should known how to count back change and not rely on a display).

There is plenty more advice to share but it tends to require more details related to the various issues and problems.

Please visit my contact page for information on how to reach me.

EMV Compliance

I try to remind folks that EMV compliance is real and something that everyone who accepts credit and debits cards will have to deal with over the next year.  Since I still receive calls from retail stores, restaurants, and museums who are not yet even PCI compliant, I will continue to remind everyone that EMV compliance has a deadline of October 2015 in the US. You will need to update your hardware and/or software by then or be completely liable for fraudulent transactions.

In lighter news, the good folks at Bindo Point of Sale announced today that they have all the hardware and software required to be EMV compliant.  Nice to know that some companies are planning ahead and not waiting until the last minute.  You can read the full press release here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/08/prweb12075881.htm

Are you  in the US and in need of no cost retail point of sale advice?  I'm happy to help and can be reached on my cell at 208-340-5632 (I am on Mountain Time) or via email at kevinantosh@gmail.com. There is also a contact form to the right that can be used to reach me.

Yes - I Help Food Services Related Businesses as Well

I've made some minor changes to this blog site and my YouTube channel to remove most of the references to being just retail and museum specific. This change was prompted due to the fact that I have been receiving an equal number of calls and emails from retail and food service related businesses. I will work on creating more news and information specific to food service businesses as well as retail stores and museums (like what the heck is going on with Aldelo?!?!).

In the meantime, if you are in need of some free impartial point of sale advice, are located in the US, and have (or will open) one of the following types of businesses listed below, see the various ways to contact me to the right.

• Specialty Retail
• Retail Chains of 2-75 locations
• Museums of all sizes
• Quick Serve Restaurants
• Sit Down/Table Serve Restaurants
• Counter Serve Restaurants
• Company Employee Stores
• Cafeterias
• Concession Stands
• Venues
• Food Trucks
• Kiosk, seasonal, or 'pop-up' businesses
• Retail and Restaurant Franchises
• So...just about anyone who isn't a large scale chain like Sears, Home Depot, or Denny's.