Aite Group had it partly right. That is one way to interpretclarifications received from MasterCard regarding its policies onEMV transactions and ATMs.

“U.S.-based ATMs will have to take EMV cards as of April 19,2013,” MasterCard Worldwide spokesperson Seth Eisen said in aninterview Wednesday afternoon.

He clarified that there would not necessarily be pressures onU.S. card issuers to issue EMV cards.

“We are continuing to collaborate with issuers on EMV in theU.S. We are collaborating on timelines,” said Eisen who indicatedno firm decisions had been made.

In an email, Eisen offered additional clarification: “OnSeptember 1, MasterCard announced it will extend its existing EMVliability shift program for inter-regional Maestro ATMtransactions, as part of an effort to align technology efforts toprevent and manage fraud.

“The liability shift will cover both the United States andAsia-Pacific regions and will be effective on April 19, 2013, withthe exception of Australia and New Zealand, where the liabilityshift will become effective on December 31, 2015. South Asia(Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka) willcontinue to be excluded from the inter-regional ATM EMV liabilityshift program. It should be noted that liability shift alreadyapplies for Europe, Canada and the Middle East and Africa and willbe completed for Latin America by end of October 2012.”

EMV chips – where the initials stand for Europay, MasterCard,and Visa – are increasingly important in credit card transactionsoverseas, where some card readers cannot process traditionalmagnetic strip cards.

A handful of credit unions – notably led by the United NationsFederalCreditUnion– are piloting EMV adoption in the United States.