Pittsburgh-based The PNC Financial Services Group Inc., which has a major PNC Bank branch presence in the metro Milwaukee market, has announced it will install EMV “chip” card readers at all 9,000 of its ATMs.
The move comes as another chip card liability deadline approaches. On Oct. 1, fraud liability for MasterCard transactions at ATMs will shift from the credit card company to the bank that owns the ATM. Visa has a similar deadline set for Oct. 1, 2017.
In October 2015, the first big EMV deadline shifted liability for fraudulent point-of-sale transactions to the least chip card-compliant party in the transaction—usually the merchant. Even so, merchants have been slow to install chip card terminals.
The industrywide changes are an attempt to reduce fraud through the use of chip-embedded debit and credit cards that are harder to hack.
PNC expects to complete its ATM upgrades, including all 152 in Wisconsin, by mid-September. It’s also adding keypad shields on many of its ATMs to protect customer PINs, and will offer an emailed receipt option.
One potential impact of the ATM upgrade process is the potential elimination of non-bank ATMs, said Ken Justice, senior vice president and ATM executive at PNC.
“Many of ATMs owned by third parties commonly seen in venues such as bowling alleys and bars may go away because of the cost of upgrading,” he said.
