LONG BEACH, N.Y., Feb. 18, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Planet Payment, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLPM), a leading provider of international and multi-currency payment processing services, is promoting its Pay in Your Currency solution as a way for US merchants to help offset the expense of upgrading their point-of-sale systems for EMV acceptance while also providing their international customers with enhanced customer service.
In October 2015, the Payments Networks' Liability Shift will take effect in the United States, making any merchant using non-EMV compatible devices liable for most fraud involving EMV cards. According to Javelin Strategy & Research, the U.S. has been lagging in the adoption of EMV technology, with only 10% of terminals and less than 1% of cards EMV-enabled today, compared to 76% of terminals and 45% of cards globally.1 One of the key reasons behind this slow adoption is believed to be the cost – it is estimated that merchants will need to spend $2.6 billion for upgrades to EMV-enabled POS hardware.2
Planet Payment believes that Pay in Your Currency can help reduce the cost barrier that may be preventing many merchants from making the shift to EMV-enabled POS solutions. With Pay in Your Currency, merchants offer international cardholders the choice to pay using eligible MasterCard and Visa cards in the currency they know best – their own. Pay in Your Currency can also reduce the cost of international card acceptance, and merchants can use the funds saved to offset the expense of their EMV hardware upgrade. Today, with most international cards being EMV-enabled, Pay in Your Currency is a natural complement to a merchant's EMV strategy.
As an international payment processor, Planet Payment has been EMV ready in the United States since 2013 and has experience processing EMV card transactions in 20 countries across North America, Asia Pacific and the CEMEA regions. Planet Payment's Pay in Your Currency solution is available through several of the leading acquirers and processors in the United States.
"With the upcoming liability shift, now is the time when many merchants are considering their plans to upgrade their point-of-sale systems to support EMV," said Carl Williams, Chairman and CEO of Planet Payment, "This is an ideal time to incorporate Pay in Your Currency into their card acceptance offering, allowing merchants to provide their international customers with greater convenience, while helping to offset the cost of their EMV POS upgrades."
About Planet Payment
Planet Payment is a leading provider of international payment processing and multi-currency processing services. We provide our services in 23 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region, North America, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, primarily through our 70 acquiring bank and processor customers. Our point-of-sale and e-commerce services help merchants sell more goods and services to consumers, and together with our ATM services are integrated within the payment card transaction flow enabling our acquiring customers, their merchants and consumers to shop, pay, transact and reconcile payment transactions in multiple currencies, geographies and channels.
Planet Payment is headquartered in New York and has offices in Atlanta, Beijing, Bermuda, Delaware, Dubai, Dublin, London, Hong Kong, Mexico City, Shanghai and Singapore. Visit www.planetpayment.com for more information about the Company and its services.
1. https://www.javelinstrategy.com/news/1360/92/1
2. EMV IN USA: Assessment of Merchant and Card Issuer Readiness. Javelin Strategy and Research, April 2014