Princeton Junction, N.J., February 23, 2015 – The EMV Migration Forum anticipates 2015 to be a pivotal year for the U.S. payments ecosystem as the market transitions to more secure EMV chip payment cards. By the end of 2014, an estimated 120 million chip cards had been issued, and this number is expected to skyrocket to 600 million by the end of 2015. The Forum and its leadership have made major strides in advancing the progress of the migration since its inception in 2012 by providing a platform for cross-industry cooperation and coordination for industry stakeholders. To continue to lead the U.S. chip migration towards success, the EMV Migration Forum announced today its 2015-2016 Steering Committee and officers.

The EMV Migration Forum is made up of 175 member organizations including global payments brands, financial institutions, merchants, processors, acquirers, regional debit networks, industry associations and industry suppliers. For membership information, visit http://www.emv-connection.com/us-payments-forum/membership-levels/.

“The EMV Migration Forum is dedicated to addressing issues relating to chip education and implementation, both of which are extremely important during this critical and exciting time in the U.S. chip migration,” said Randy Vanderhoof, director of the EMV Migration Forum. “The Forum’s leadership is integral in guiding the success of the organization, and its diverse cross-industry makeup helps to give the Forum a balanced voice and allows us to better address the needs of the entire payments ecosystem.”

The Steering Committee manages the Forum and guides the priorities and plans of the organization and its working committees – ATM; Card-Not-Present Fraud; Communication and Education; Debit and EMV; Testing and Certification; and U.S. Coordination. Each working committee aims to address different aspects of the migration to chip technology. Some of the key working committee activities that the Steering Committee oversees include identifying and providing solutions to issues relating to chip migration, developing best practices for chip implementation and market education, and creating deliverables such as white papers and webinars for industry stakeholders at all levels of education and implementation.

The Forum also hosts quarterly in-person meetings for its membership to hear updates on the status of EMV chip migration, work on projects and address points which require some level of industry cooperation and/or coordination. Forum meetings provide members with the opportunity to share perspectives, report lessons learned and ask questions of other industry colleagues in the midst of chip migrations. The next members-only meeting will be held March 10-11 at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel in Anaheim, California. More details can be found at http://bit.ly/1zd0Bfv. Merchant organizations that have never previously attended an EMV Migration Forum meeting are invited to contact the Forum about a special introductory offer.

The newly-elected Steering Committee officers for 2015-2016 are:

• Chair: John Drechny, Walmart
• Vice Chair: Patty Walters, Vantiv
• Treasurer: Sarah Hartman, TSYS
• Secretary: Karen Czack, American Express

“The Forum has made significant progress in solving complex problems and addressing real implementation issues relating to chip migration. I am looking forward to my continued leadership role in the Forum and to supporting the important activities that are helping the industry make chip payments a reality in the U.S.,” said returning chair, John Drechny, Walmart.

The full cross-industry Steering Committee for 2015-2016 is:

Acquirer/Processor Representatives

• Sarah Hartman, TSYS
• Patty Walters, Vantiv

General Member Representatives

• Allen Friedman, Ingenico
• Jamie Topolski, Fiserv

Global Payments Network Representatives

• Carolyn Balfany, MasterCard
• Karen Czack, American Express
• Simon Hurry, Visa Inc.
• Ellie Smith, Discover Financial Services
• Huy Vu, UnionPay USA

Industry Supplier Representatives

• Nick Pisarev, Giesecke & Devrient
• Erik Vlugt, Verifone

Issuer Representatives

• Scott Haney, Woodforest National Bank
• Dr. Art Harper, PSCU
• Jesse Lee, Wells Fargo
• Tim Ludwig, Chase
• Ron Schnittman, Bank of America

Merchant Representatives

• Kristy Cook, Target
• John Drechny, Walmart
• Barry Hanen, Walgreens
• Kathy Hanna, Kroger
• Julie Hueneke, McDonald’s

Regional Network Representatives

• Nancy Loomis, First Data/STAR
• Bob Woodbury, FIS/NYCE

For more information and full biographies of Steering Committee members, visit http://www.emv-connection.com/us-payments-forum/steering-committee-members-and-staff/.

For more information about the EMV Migration Forum, visit http://www.emv-connection.com/emv-migration-forum.

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. Chip 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 a chip-based payments infrastructure. Acquirer processor readiness mandates to support chip 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 chip 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 Tech PR
203-226-9290
[email protected]