Princeton Junction, N.J., April 29, 2014 – The EMV Migration Forum is providing theU.S. debit payments industry with a strong path forward in their move to EMV chip technology with the release of a technical EMV debit framework today. The industry-supported framework is detailed in the white paper “U.S. Debit EMV Technical Proposal,” available for download at http://www.emv-connection.com/u-s-debit-emv-technical-proposal/.

“This technical framework addresses the fundamental challenge faced by the U.S. debit payments industry: how to implement EMV for debit cards with the flexibility to meet compliance guidelines established by the Federal Reserve rulemaking that may change over time. The solution provides an approach for the debit card processing scenarios we know of today, so debit industry organizations can continue on the way to chip implementation with confidence,” said Randy Vanderhoof, director of the EMV Migration Forum. “Overcoming chip migration challenges impeding faster adoption is a priority for the EMV Migration Forum, and the release of this technical proposal reflects the expertise, commitment and collaboration of our cross-industry membership over the last several months.”

The publication of the framework and associated white paper follows a thorough industry review that included merchants, issuers, acquirers/processors, regional debit networks, global payment brands and the ATM industry, with members agreeing that it addresses key debit industry challenges. The white paper provides a high-level description of the technical solution, which follows the EMV specification and accommodates flexibility to meet debit routing regulatory requirements, as well as principles and guidelines for implementation. The technical proposal white paper includes:

• A description of the challenges with EMV debit implementation
• Key stakeholder expectations for the EMV debit solution
• A proposed approach to meet current regulatory requirements and accommodate potential future requirements known today
• The transaction flow, messaging implications, acquirer routing guidelines and POS acceptance considerations for the proposed EMV technical solution

“The EMV Migration Forum is where the U.S. payments stakeholders gather to address issues and uncover opportunities to advance chip migration,” said John Drechny, Walmart and chair of the EMV Migration Forum. “The work of this technical committee highlights how the Forum’s industry stakeholder members can effectively collaborate and find common ground to solve complex problems.”

“We are pleased to provide this white paper to help organizations create roadmaps for EMV debit implementation. EMV Migration Forum members from every part of the payments ecosystem contributed their knowledge and countless hours to come to a consensus on this important debit technical framework,” said Nick Pisarev, Giesecke & Devrient and lead of the Debit Technical Work Group.

Stakeholders interested in adopting the proposed EMV debit solution can use the framework to build their own detailed specifications for implementation. Ultimately, adoption of the framework and specific technical solutions developed independently by individual industry stakeholders will depend on their own business decisions, considerations and circumstances. Industry stakeholders should work with their vendors and payment brand partners on implementation questions.

For more information on the “U.S. Debit EMV Technical Proposal,” visit http://www.emv-connection.com/u-s-debit-emv-technical-proposal/.

About U.S. EMV Migration

Commonly used globally in place of magnetic stripe, EMV chip technology helps to reduce card fraud in a face-to-face card-present environment; provides global interoperability; and enables safer transactions across contact and contactless channels. EMV implementation was initiated in the U.S. market in in 2011 and 2012 when American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa announced their roadmaps for supporting an EMV-based payments infrastructure. Acquirer processor readiness mandates to support EMV were established for 2013, with liability shifts for managing fraud risk in a face-to-face environment set for 2015.

About the EMV Migration Forum

The EMV Migration Forum is a cross-industry body focused on supporting the EMV implementation steps required for global and regional payment networks, issuers, processors, merchants, and consumers to help ensure a successful introduction of more secure EMV chip technology in the United States. The focus of the Forum is to address topics that require some level of industry cooperation and/or coordination to migrate successfully to EMV technology in the United States. For more information on the EMV Migration Forum, please visit http://www.emv-connection.com/us-payments-forum/

Contact:

Megan Shamas
Montner & Associates Tech PR
203-226-9290
[email protected]