U.S. EMV-ification: The Growing Case for Contactless Cards

With less than a month to go before the EMV liability shift takes place in the U.S., the payment industry is still far from ready for the transition, both in terms of the mechanics of the card and POS upgrades as well as education of cardholders and merchants. In many ways this is not surprising — the transition of an entire payment ecosystem is a daunting endeavor and further complicated by the sheer number of merchants and issuers that need to upgrade their infrastructure.

However, the shift to EMV in the U.S. is happening in parallel with the emergence of mass market mobile payment initiatives, notably Apple Pay and Android Pay. As consumers become increasingly aware of the ability to pay by phone, expectations around other payment paradigms will also shift. In this environment we believe there is a growing case for the introduction of contactless (dual interface) EMV cards in the second wave of EMV card portfolio replacement as a means of replicating the streamlined user experience of contactless mobile proximity payments.

This report provides a snapshot of the state of EMV today and forecasts the timeline for EMV ubiquity, as well as the anticipated rise in contactless EMV cards as issuers realize the opportunity for reclaiming top-of-wallet status with a faster and more user friendly experience at the point of sale.

PRIMARY QUESTIONS

• Where are we in the transition to EMV in the U.S.?
• How long will it take for EMV to be commonplace?
• What is the state of contactless infrastructure for payments in the U.S. today and how will it evolve?

Companies Mentioned:

The consumer data in this report are based on information collected from several Javelin surveys that targeted populations representative of the overall U.S. population in proportions of gender, age, and income:

• A random-sample panel of 8,525 respondents collected online from April to May 2015. 
• A random-sample panel of 8,225 respondents collected online during November 2014. 
• A random-sample panel of 3,195 respondents collected online from June to July 2015. 
• A random-sample panel of 3,225 respondents collected online from June to July 2014.