Adoption of Europay, Mastercard and Visa Technology and Card Fraud in the Kenswitch Network Environment

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the adoption of EMV technology and card fraud in the Kenswitch network environment. The study was guided by the following research objectives, to determine the extent of adoption of EMV technology in the Kenswitch network environment, to establish the challenges faced in adoption of EMV technology in the Kenswitch network environment and to establish the level of fraud experienced as a result of EMV implementation. The study clearly identifies the global trend in migration to EMV technology, the various challenges associated with adoption of EMV technology and the impact of adopting it. This research study used the descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study was 35 Kenswitch member institutions where census was used in this study. The study collected primary data through the use of questionnaire which generated both qualitative and quantitative data, where quantitative data analyzed using descriptive statistics. Based on the findings of the study, most of the Kenswitch members have adopted EMV technology to minimize payment card fraud. The members have experienced varied challenges in the adoption of EMV technology. Most of the commercial banks on the Kenswitch network have adopted EMV. The high adoption of EMV technology seems so because of the need for the institutions to address the payment card fraud menace. The study concludes that most of the financial institutions such as commercial banks had adopted EMV. The study also concludes that payment card industry has lagged behind other developing economies in adopting more secure chip-embedded EMV cards. Further the study concluded that Kenya financial industry and the merchant community have a once in a lifetime change to bring their payment infrastructure to a state-of-the-art level which addresses usability, functionality, security and cost requirements. Fraud rates remain fairly low in spite of fraud experienced in recent years.