Regardless of what your restaurant clients believed, EMV payments in the U.S. weren’t just hype and it does apply to them.  Even though the EMV liability shift took place October 1, 2015, many restaurants are still not EMV compliant. You have probably heard it all: they didn’t think it was important to upgrade, they didn’t want to invest in an EMV-compliant system, or maybe they just forgot.

Some non-EMV-compliant restaurant owners are now faced with situations that are really hurting their businesses. If your restaurant customers do not have technology in place to handle EMV payments, they could be dealing with chargebacks. Although some restaurants might only experience infrequent or small chargeback fees, others might be paying enough to easily cover the cost of upgrading to an EMV-compliant system.

Overcoming EMV Objections

Whether your non-EMV-compliant restaurant client is ready to upgrade or if they still need some convincing, they are likely to have questions. Here are some common concerns about EMV payments and how you can address them through your marketing messages:

• Speed

The time it takes for EMV payments has been a concern. The truth is, EMV payments only take a few additional seconds to process — if additional time is noticeable at all — and customers are becoming more and more accustomed to this type of payment.  Well trained employees can help ensure efficient, quick customer experiences at the checkout, whether it’s with EMV or another payment type.

If your solution can help improve payment efficiency or speed, this would be a great thing to point out on your website or in the content you produce.

• Tipping

There was initially some worry that EMV payments would not allow for tipping in the usual manner or would be awkward because transactions could take place entirely at the table. Restaurant solutions, however, facilitate tipping, and a restaurant’s usual tipping process doesn’t have to change unless the merchant wants it to.

Highlight information in your marketing messaging about how your solution makes tipping easy and comfortable — for both customers and wait staff.

• Future-Proof Solutions

When a restaurant owner makes an investment in technology, they want to know it won’t be outdated next year. Help customers future-proof their POS upgrades. Show you are forward-thinking and helping them prepare for emerging and future trends, such as mobile payments that use near field communication (NFC), like Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay.

How to Get the Word Out

If you have important news about how your solutions address restaurant’s EMV needs, there are a number of ways you can get the word out:

• Address customer pain points in your blogs, newsletters, and other content. The more you show you understand their challenges and offer solutions, the more they will look to you as an industry thought leader.
• Use email blasts, webinars, social media, video, and other creative ways to share your content and messaging.
• Focus on the whole security puzzle instead of just EMV. Show how your solutions can help your restaurant customers in areas including PCI compliance and security, and how you support additional technologies such as tokenization and encryption. Include educational resources on your website and accept invitations to speak on the topic.

Your restaurant customers may be a little behind retailers in EMV adoption and will need help when they decide to upgrade. Send the message loud and clear that you have the solutions ready for them that meet their needs and address their challenges.