MasterCard Addresses ATM Liability Concerns for EMV-Chip Cards

MasterCard will vet all Maestro card transactions at U.S. ATMs with fraud-screening software to alleviate the concerns of ATM owners who are not prepared for the card brand’s April 19 liability shift.

ATM associations had expressed concern with the MasterCard liability-shift date for transactions initiated through internationally-issued Maestro EMV chip-cards, saying they essentially had to be fully prepared for all EMV products because it was not possible to upgrade for Maestro cards alone.

MasterCard issued an open letter to the ATM industry April 11, informing owners that, after conversations with the National ATM Council, it had set up a plan to screen Maestro transactions through its Fraud Rule Manager program.

Fraud Rule Manager will block all transactions subject to the liability shift on those units that averaged one or fewer cross-border transactions per month. It will also analyze transactions on machines that handle more Maestro transactions.

If cross-border fraud at a specific ATM passed a designated threshold, MasterCard would adjust the fraud-prevention parameters to block transactions subject to the liability shift at that ATM “for a reasonable period of time,” the letter states.

MasterCard plans to deploy Fraud Rule Manager on all non-EMV ATMs at no charge. An acquirer or ATM operator does not need to do anything to the ATM, the letter states.