PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J. -- Payments industry stakeholders now have a website dedicated entirely to helping with the United States' upcoming move to EMV chip technology at www.emv-connection.com.
Launched by the Smart Card Alliance, the site provides information on the status of EMV or "EuroPay MasterCard Visa" migration, along with tutorials and educational resources that will assist with migration.
EMV, which incorporates a microchip embedded in the plastic-payment card, is a standard currently popular in Europe, but would require significant retailer investment to become a ubiquitous method of payment here in the United States.
"Now that the payment brands have announced their roadmaps to accelerate EMV adoption in the United States, we've taken the initiative to develop a dedicated website where industry participants can get information about the fundamentals of EMV, and how the migration from magnetic-stripe cards to EMV chip technology is progressing in the United States," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, Princeton Junction, N.J.
"EMV Connection places our entire extensive library of EMV resources in one place, for the first time, on an easy-to-navigate website, and adds new educational material to help bring everyone up-to-speed for this important transition," he said.
The EMV Connection site is laid out so that all major EMV stakeholders--issuers, merchants, consumers and payment processors and acquirers--can easily find valuable information like frequently asked questions, white papers, videos, slideshows and links to other EMV resources that will best help them travel their own unique EMV migration path:
- Issuers can get a head-start with EMV migration with tutorials and implementation guidance about EMV cards that take advantage of global best practices.
- Merchants can learn from industry experts about the impact that EMV will have on the point-of-sale environment and key strategies for managing EMV chip data in their retail operations.
- Acquirers and processors can plan their EMV migration to meet the April 2013 requirement to handle full EMV chip data in transactions.
- Consumers can learn about how EMV helps to reduce fraud and protect payment transactions and how contact and contactless EMV cards will be used in retail environments.
The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart-card technology. Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought.
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