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Shell to Levy Fees on US Stations Failing to Meet Chip Card Deadline

Shell to Levy Fees on US Stations Failing to Meet Chip Card Deadline

Shell wholesalers will be charged monthly fees beginning May 1 for each Shell
station that has not complied with the Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) technology
standards for accepting chip payment cards at the pump, according to a message
sent this month.

On May 1, there will be a $250/month fee for each site that doesn't accept chip
cards at the gas islands. On July 1, the fee increases to $500/month. While
OPIS obtained a message sent to Motiva wholesalers, Motiva confirmed the fees
apply to the entire Shell station network.

Shell joins other fuel brands charging noncompliance fees for failure to adopt
EMV at the pump. For example, OPIS reported in November 2020 that Chevron will
levy a $500 monthly fee per station if sites fail to comply with minimum IT
requirements as of April 1, 2021. The minimum standards include accepting chip
cards at the gas islands.

"Each location's noncompliance fee will be administered to the wholesaler's
account beginning in May and will continue for subsequent months until the
location is EMV compliant," wrote Bill Spurgeon, executive vice president of
Motiva marketing and sales.

"Additional fee increases following July 1, 2021, will be subject to future
announcement. These fees will help offset additional costs to Shell to maintain
and operate two EPOS (electronic point-of-sale) system platforms until all
locations in the Shell network transition to the EMV standard," Spurgeon said.

Shell locations that remain noncompliant with the EMV standard could be
debranded, according to the Motiva notice. However, the warning does not
provide a cut-off date for noncompliance. "Shell strongly encourages that all
efforts be made by the wholesaler to adhere to the EMV hardware and software
standards," the notice said.

Shell notified branded wholesalers last year that they may be charged
noncompliance fees for stations that don't accept chip cards at the pump by the
mid-April 2021 deadline set by the payment card networks. After that time,
sites failing to comply with EMV will be liable for counterfeit card fraud.

The oil brand continues to provide resources to help stations meet the
liability shift deadline for outdoor EMV, including workshops, special pricing
on new dispensers, free point-of-purchase signage, co-op eligible EMV
advertising and help-desk support, the notice said.

--Reporting by Donna Harris, dharris@opisnet.com; Editing by Barbara Chuck,
bchuck@opisnet.com



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