EMV
The chip-card standard that chip-and-PIN and contactless card payments run on, named after Europay, Mastercard and Visa. A terminal described as EMV-capable takes chip cards; magnetic stripe is a separate, older path that some cards still need.
Why it matters to a merchant
The reason the counter workflow is what it is: insert or tap rather than swipe, and a receipt that says so. Beyond the technology, EMV is why liability for certain disputed transactions sits where it does — a merchant who cannot accept a chip transaction and falls back to the stripe has, in some cases, taken on a liability the chip would have carried. That is the practical reason a merchant should care about a word they will never say out loud. It is not a feature to compare between providers — every terminal a licensed Singapore acquirer places is EMV — but it is the thing that decides whether a disputed transaction is argued on your evidence or settled against you by rule. The two situations where it becomes visible are a chip that will not read and a card from a market where the stripe is still common, and in both the correct instruction to counter staff is the same: follow what the terminal asks for and do not improvise a workaround, because the workaround is usually the part that moves the liability.
Related terms
In this section: At the counter