HOUSTON — As the fueling industry pushes to upgrade pumps to EMV standards ahead of the October 2020 liability shift, Shell has provided its own progress report: More than 1,000 locations in 44 states—out of its approximately 13,000 branded sites in the United States—are outdoor EMV compliant.

“Shell is fully committed to providing its wholesalers with the information and resources they need to have their Shell-branded sites' EMV hardware and software ready in advance of the liability shift date,” Houston-based Shell Oil Products said in a statement. “Our top priority is to deliver programs and technology that lead to better customer experiences.”

Fuel retailers that have not upgraded their fuel dispensers to accept chip cards by Oct. 1, 2020, will be liable for any fraudulent purchases made at their locations; however, a 2019 survey conducted by tech standards group Conexxus found that only 42% of retailers expect to be ready in time.

In terms of EMV upgrade support, Shell shared with CSP Daily News the following resources it is providing to its branded wholesaler network:

EMV equipment purchase programs with Gilbarco Veeder-Root, Wayne Fueling Systems, Verifone and Cybera.

EMV-compliant software available ahead of the liability shift with software currently available for more than 80% of the Shell network.

Dedicated resources available to support Shell wholesalers’ EMV transition.

Workshops, webcasts and the EMV Deploy Center, a mobile-friendly online tool to guide wholesalers, their employees and dealers through the end-to-end EMV readiness and deployment process.

Consultations at industry events and Shell sales meetings.

And for Shell retail sites that activate EMV, a free EMV point-of-purchase signage kit to promote awareness and security benefits of chip-card technology to their customers.

Shell began its EMV upgrade outreach to branded wholesalers in late 2016. In 2019, it began the first of several point-of-sale software upgrades for different dispensers to its Shell Vantage retail site system platform.

When asked whether all approximately 13,000 Shell-branded locations will be upgraded by Oct. 1, the oil company said its brand partners will be responsible for hitting that deadline. “Ultimately it is the decision of Shell wholesalers and their dealers on when they complete their EMV site upgrades," Shell said in a statement, "but it is our hope that the majority of the network will be EMV compliant by Oct. 1, 2020.”