SPARTANBURG, S.C. — QS/1 has earned certification to process the chip-embedded credit cards via payment technology service provider Global Payments Inc.

The pharmacy and health care solution provider said Monday that the Global Payments approval enables pharmacies using QS/1 technology and hardware to accept and authenticate the EMV chip cards.

Europay, MasterCard and Visa EMV-compliant cards are now considered the standard for credit card safety in the United States.

“QS/1 is giving our pharmacy customers the tools they need to protect themselves from credit card fraud,” stated Sonny Anderson, vice president of systems and technology at QS/1. “Global Payments has certified QS/1 to process EMV payments through its system.”

QS/1 noted that with the transition to the chip cards comes a shift in financial liability, in which merchants not EMV-compliant will be held accountable for fraudulent transactions when a counterfeit, chip-embedded card is used at a terminal that only accepts magnetic strip cards.

“QS/1 offered one of the first integrated point-of-sale solutions with EMV processing capability to the independent and small chain pharmacy industry,” Anderson added. “Our goal is to help pharmacies succeed by providing the security resources they need, as we continue to pursue EMV certification with additional credit card processors.”