There’s no way around it – EMV transition planning will be complicated. However, while EMV is a complex specification, the good news is that it can grow over time. Thus the key is to implement an infrastructure that lets you start with a simple, single portfolio that can expand and mature with you. Looking forward, the goal is to do it once, do it properly and avoid the pain of re-doing it when it’s time to move into mobile payments.

Where do you start? Lay the groundwork and first develop your own EMV awareness by attending EMV training sessions and industry events as well as copious online research, starting with the EMVCo website that contains everything from specifications for the tech heads to business documents for the strategy folks. Once your own readiness is deciphered, it is also crucial to speak with your vendors – your software vendor, card manufacturer, processor – to assess their readiness. The whole network needs to move forward and work together.

With its wide, varied and many optional components, EMV planning needs to include both business and IT parties from the organization. Each side needs to iterate and understand the other’s objectives and what they can do for each other.  Questions from the business team such as “What’s feasible? How much does it cost? What are the implications of…?” ideally should elicit IT team responses such as “The cost is X, but here are some alternatives to reach the same business objective.” Collaboration and clarity of objectives are vital.

The final “gotcha” is determining who owns the EMV project at your organization. Common candidates include the card product team, risk management, operations, IT and the ATM channel. The most successful approach, however, is a SWAT team that draws together all of these groups to navigate the complicated channels of EMV planning and transition.