Q&A With Harbortouch CEO: Will EMV Slow Down Holiday Shoppers?

By Bernadette Wilson

With holiday shopping in full swing, Business Solutions asked Jared Isaacman, founder and CEO of Harbortouch, what impact the U.S. EMV migration will have on the customer experience this season. Isaacman also shared findings from a Harbortouch survey on EMV and his insights into how mobile payments could impact EMV adoption.

BSM: The U.S. began its transition to EMV — just in time for the holiday shopping season. What impact do you believe EMV will make on the customer experience over the next several weeks?

Isaacman: We recently commissioned a survey that looked into consumer sentiment around EMV, and one of the biggest findings revealed that consumers are concerned with the time it takes to process EMV transactions. One in five consumers reported that paying for goods with EMV cards takes longer — and they aren’t wrong. On average, it takes between seven to 10 seconds for consumers to complete a transaction using chip cards versus two or three seconds to pay using traditional swipe credit cards. While seemingly small, during busy times like the holidays, these increased processing times could add up quickly. There is a chance that this holiday season retailers will see longer check-out lines or even cart abandonment by shoppers unwilling to wait.

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