With the deadline for accepting EMV payment cards now just months away, 38 percent of U.S. small merchants still don't have plans to upgrade their point-of-sale systems, according to a new American Express survey released Tuesday (Feb. 24).

Of the small retailers -- merchants who take in less than $3 million a year in card payments -- who either won't upgrade to support EMV cards or haven't yet decided to, 57 percent said the cost of new terminals is the main barrier. Software upgrades (29 percent) and consumer education (28 percent) also figured in the decisions.

The survey of 500 small merchants also found that 49 percent weren't even aware that after Oct. 1, 2015, they'll be stuck with liability for card fraud if they haven't upgraded to accept EMV cards.

The survey results were released as AmEx begins to ramp up a $10 million rebate campaign for small retailers that the card brand announced last fall as part of a White House push for better payment-card security.

Along with merchant education, AmEx will offer eligible merchants a one-time $100 reimbursement after they have upgraded to an EMV terminal. AmEx is also launching a telephone hotline, a website, and a four-city tour (New York, Atlanta, Miami and Houston) with face-to-face meetings to encourage small retailers to convert to EMV.

Those small merchants are expected to be the group that's slowest to support EMV. Of those surveyed, 67 percent said card fraud prevention is important to running their businesses, and 52 percent said they believed they were at higher risk for fraud than larger retailers, with lack of money in the budget for upgrades or lack of access to expertise as their biggest barriers.

Overall, 59 percent of U.S. locations with point-of-sale devices are now expected to be EMV compatible by the end of 2015, according to a survey this month from Aite Group. That includes large retailers, many of whom have had EMV-capable hardware in place for years but didn't turn on EMV support earlier because of the additional cost to process the cards.