Scottsdale-based Equinox Payments, a leading provider of payment terminals, applications and support services, has enhanced its Apollo, L5000 and Luxe terminal lines to support contactless chip technology for JCB cards. JCB, a major global payment brand and a leading payment card issuer and acquirer in Japan, represents a significant amount of consumer spending — according to the U.S. Department of Commerce National Travel and Tourism Office, 83 percent of Japanese tourists cite shopping as a key activity; in 2016, the spending total came to about $16 billion for the 3.6 million Japanese visitors who traveled to the U.S. Supporting chip and contactless is a convenient way to remove any friction during the payment transaction since it mimics the process JCB cardholders are used to in their own country.
“Merchants that adopt these solutions can improve the checkout experience for JCB card members, and make sure their business is ready for the JCB EMV liability shift that takes effect next year,” says Rob Hayhow, Equinox vice president. “Once completed, all Equinox payment terminals will be automatically enabled to support JCB Contactless at the factory prior to release.”
Final certifications are expected this summer, providing merchants with Equinox terminals a simple upgrade path to extend the convenience of tap-and-go payments via JCB chip cards and Apple Pay. In the U.S., JCB transactions are routed through Discover Network.
