Wegmans Begins EMV Rollout

Wegmans Food Markets is beginning a launch of EMV technology at its checkout terminals, beginning with its Rochester, N.Y.-area stores, allowing customers at the locations to now dip their EMV-enabled chip cards, the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle reported.

The change, which will roll out to all Wegmans 92 stores by mid-March if all goes well, has already been made at some of the Rochester-based grocer’s local stores, to show how it has revamped the checkout experience via the new technology. For instance, shoppers can get cash back via typing in the amount needed, rather than requesting it from the cashier.

Moreover, customers can save time via payment terminals processing information as items are scanned and bagged, while new Quick Chip technology cuts down on the amount of time needed to approve chip cards. Dave DeLaus, SVP and CIO at Wegmans, told the Democrat and Chronicle that enhancements halve payment-processing time.

According to spokeswoman Jo Natale, Wegmans was able to hold off on accepting chip cards due to fraud not being a major concern for the company, enabling it to delay installation of EMV-enabled terminals until “we got it right.”