The deadline for restaurants to adopt EMV compliance in their POS systems has long passed – your restaurant should have incorporated compliant tech by October of 2015. Of course, the big elephant in the room is the burden of responsibility – if you authorize a chip-enabled card without using EMV compliant technology, the liability for a chargeback is now yours, not the card issuers.

But don’t accept chargebacks as a necessary evil of keeping up with the times. By ensuring your restaurant is EMV compliant you can protect your customers and protect yourself in the process. It’s not too difficult – simply follow these steps.

Train Your Staff

Investing in EMV technology is not the last step to EMV compliance – it’s the first. Your staff may not be familiar with the EMV checkout process, and with different card companies and EMV systems in play the process may vary between restaurants. Take the time to fully train your staff, and emphasize the importance of EMV compliance.

Many POS systems utilized at restaurants today have slots where customers can insert or swipe their card. Though it’s more convenient to allow the customer to choose, if they choose wrong it means your compliance is on the line. Train your staff to always ask, audibly, if there is a chip, and make sure all chip-cards are inserted instead of swiped. A few chargebacks and you’ll understand why it pays to keep your staff up to date.

Consider the Disruption

One huge hurdle restaurant owners have to jump over (or run around) is the tipping process with EMV technology. Many EMV cards simply will not allow the transaction amount to be altered once the card has been run. For servers who are accustomed to adding the tip amount once the customer is out the door, this change can seem disastrous, especially for workers who rely on consistent tips.

Some restaurants navigate this issue by training their staff to introduce the EMV system and explain during checkout why tipping is required before running the card. While some customers may need time to adjust to a different routine, asking diners to tip before running the card ultimately is better for your staff, who would lose out on much needed tips if left without clarity or a plan of action.

Turn to the Tabletop

However, many restaurant managers frown upon asking customers to add a tip in person before running their card, as it seems invasive and eats up time that will quickly compound over the course of a day. One solution to this headache is to rely on tabletop tablet POS systems that make the entire dining process digital.

Incorporating digital dining into your restaurant reads as jumping ahead, and provides many benefits to your customer. They can easily split the check via the touchscreen tablet, and can checkout in moments without a server bringing the check back and forth. The added security of checking out at their table allows customers to accept changes to their expected checkout process.

Buzztime’s digital dining POS systems are EMV compliant and solve the problem of tipping as well. You may be tempted to assume that, with a tabletop tablet checkout, customers would tip less. But the opposite is true – with many of the payment processes no longer on their checklist, servers can focus on what’s most important – meeting the needs of the customer. This boost in service will translate to a higher tip.

Not yet EMV compliant? Implement Buzztime today in your restaurant.
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