At restaurants and other service-oriented merchants in the U.S., consumers are used to paying for their purchases and “tipping” by handing over their cards for authorization, and then later adding a tip to the authorized amount on the receipt along with their signature. But this is problematic with EMV, which typically prevents tip adjustments after the initial payment has been authorized. Today, EVO Payments International and Verifone announced a solution to ease the EMV migration for restaurants and other merchants in the U.S. by enabling them to execute post authorization tip adjustments similar to how they are handled with traditional non-EMV cards.

The solution is EVO’s first EMV approval and settlement software application, and it is certified to integrate with EMV and NFC enabled payment devices from Verifone—one of EVO’s preferred hardware providers for restaurants. In addition to executing post-authorization tip adjustments, the application enables restaurants and other merchants to:

  • Open and close bar tabs with EMV cards
  • Accept proprietary gift cards, and split payments between gift cards and other payment methods
  • Accept EMV without requiring signature in quick service restaurant (QSR) environments

Merchants often use electronic cash register point of sale (POS) software systems that control the payment process in a semi-integrated fashion with payment terminals and PIN pads. At the end of the day, merchants typically key in the tips added to customers’ signed receipts for post-authorization adjustments. With EMV, a processor-authorized payment application is required to ensure merchants do not assume liability for any card fraud. EVO’s application provides this capability while also preventing merchants and their POS software providers from having to worry about updating and certifying POS software whenever changes occur—saving them considerable time and resources.

EVO’s payment application will initially be available on Verifone’s VX 520 countertop payment terminal, and subsequently the VX 805 CFD. The application can be directly updated with new features to accommodate changing EMV requirements without requiring payment device recertification.