About the U.S. Payments Forum

Overview

The U.S. Payments Forum (the “Forum”) is a cross-industry body focused on addressing issues that require broad cooperation and coordination across many constituents in the payments industry. This cooperation and coordination is vital to promote the efficient, timely, and effective introduction of EMV chip technology and other new and emerging payments technologies in the United States that protect the security of, and enhance opportunities for payment transactions within the U.S. Topic areas the Forum engages in include EMV implementation, tokenization, card-not-present transactions, encryption, and mobile and contactless payments. The U.S. Payments Forum resulted from the expansion of the charter and activities of the EMV Migration Forum, which was formed in 2012 to support the industry cooperation and alignment of the move from magnetic stripe technology to more secure EMV contact and contactless technology. The transition of the organization to the U.S. Payment Forum took place in August 2016.

The U.S. Payments Forum membership includes global payments networks, financial institutions, merchants, processors, acquirers, domestic debit networks, industry associations and industry suppliers.

Learn more about U.S. Payments Forum members.

U.S. Payments Forum Activities

The U.S. Payments Forum membership and Steering Committee develop the priority topics and establish the plans for addressing and communicating the topics and conclusions to the industry. The following activities – many of which require some level of industry cooperation and/or coordination– comprise the majority of Forum work:

  • Providing actionable guidance on technical issues, consumer awareness and other non-proprietary issues relating to industry-wide adoption and implementation of new and emerging payments technologies
  • Developing non-proprietary best practices and training materials necessary for successful implementation of new payments technologies within the United States
  • Discussing the coordination of process-related elements of the payments infrastructure necessary to introduce new payments technologies
  • Discussing and engaging in projects to facilitate consumer adoption and allow for a more consistent consumer experience
  • Providing implementation and feedback to standards bodies on proposed standards for new payments technologies
  • Creating an environment for open discussion on new payments technologies among payments industry stakeholders

Learn more about the U.S. Payments Forum Steering Committee and staff.

U.S. Payments Forum Meeting Schedule

The Forum meets in quarterly face-to-face meetings to discuss and address points which require some level of industry cooperation and/or coordination and to provide educational sessions on topics of interest. Forum working committees hold sessions at these meetings and engage in projects to address specific aspects of the EMV migration and new payments technology implementations. Working committees are supported by volunteers from a diverse set of member organizations and meet regularly via teleconferences and web conference calls.

Learn more about the next meeting.

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