What is EMV?
EMV stands for Europay Mastercard Visa. EMV transactions use the chip built into the physical credit card or tap-to-pay hardware such as a smartphone or smartwatch. To process an EMV transaction, the credit card, phone, or watch is tapped onto the reader or inserted so it can read the chip data.
What's the benefit of EMV?
EMV transactions offer enhanced security and protection against fraud, making them a valuable addition to any payment processing setup. This translates to fewer chargebacks and less expensive processing fees.
What does EMV not do?
EMV transactions are only made when the terminal is physically interacting with the guest's card (or smartphone or smartwatch). Deposits made online, automatic payments, and payments made with a retained card that don't interact with the EMV terminal are not EMV transactions. They don't benefit from the protections unless you run the transaction through the EMV device with the guest's card or their device.
Having an EMV terminal will not protect your business from all chargebacks, including those from guests who dispute cancellation fees.
What's the benefit of an EMV integration?
The integration allows you to mitigate potential human error caused by manually posting transactions on an unconnected EMV terminal. Transactions are logged into ThinkReservations automatically.
Cards used in an integrated EMV transaction are tokenized/retained for use later for card-not-present (non-EMV) transactions.
EMV transactions are more protected for both the customer and the merchant.
EMV transaction fees are less expensive for the merchant due to the lower risk.
If you do in-person card-present transactions, your business should consider processing with an EMV device compatible with your processor. If your processor is Heartland Payments, you can use an EMV Terminal that connects directly to ThinkReservations.
Can you use EMV with card-not-present transactions?
No. Only card-present transactions that are performed using the EMV device interacting with the guest's card are protected EMV transactions. When the card is retained using the EMV, subsequent transactions with that retained card are not considered EMV transactions unless the card is used directly with the EMV terminal again.
What payment processors are supported for our direct integration?
ThinkPayments and Heartland Payments are the only payment processors supported for direct integration with EMV hardware. Other processors will need to manually post their EMV transactions in ThinkReservations using this guide.
What EMV hardware is supported?
For ThinkPayments, we support the Stripe Reader S710.
For Heartland, our direct integration supports the Luxe 8500i EMV terminal reader
Are cards retained when used with EMV?
Yes, when you process an EMV transaction, the card is retained or "tokenized" for use later without the card. Note that only transactions done through the EMV reader with the card are considered EMV transactions.
Can I report on EMV transactions versus others?
ThinkReservations logs all transactions from connected EMV terminals automatically, but they are not differentiated as EMV specifically. The ThinkPayments portal will allow you to report on different types of transactions. From there, you can see how many transactions are EMV.
How will I know if the payment doesn't go through?
Any error messages like a decline will show on the ThinkReservations screen as normal. The terminal will only display a generic warning message. The status of the transaction is also displayed next to the payment on the reservation or bill.
How are refunds handled?
Refunds are handled as normal for credit card transactions. Select the payment so it turns blue, click Refund, and refund the amount needed. See here for more on that.
How do I check the connection status?
You can check the connection status of connected terminals in Settings > EMV Terminals. Click the Test Connection button for the terminal you wish to check.
How do I reboot the device?
If you are having any issues, we suggest you try a reboot. Rebooting will reset the device but will not clear out the programming or transactions that are waiting to be batched out.
On the 8500i:
Locate the small reset button on the bottom of the device.
Press and hold the reset button for 3 seconds.
The device will beep, and reboot.