PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., March 5, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To promote clear and consistent communication as EMV technology is introduced into the U.S., the EMV Migration Forum today released its first official publication, "The Standardization of Terminology." Created by the Forum's Communication and Education Working Committee, the document defines common chip and EMV terms for use in educational and marketing communications.
The EMV Migration Forum, an independent organization created by the Smart Card Alliance, was formed to address issues that require broad cooperation and coordination across the payments space in order to successfully introduce secure EMV contact and contactless technology in the United States.
"Education is the most important component to ensuring a seamless migration to chip-based EMV in the United States. The use of this document will help ensure that the terminology and definitions used in educational materials are clear and uniform across the entire payments industry and provide a deeper understanding of EMV and how it makes our payments infrastructure more secure," said Randy Vanderhoof, acting director of the EMV Migration Forum.
"The Standardization of Terminology," available at http://www.emv-connection.com/standardization-of-terminology/, features four central elements:
1. Recommended Standardized Term (and acronym if indicated)
2. "Also Known As" (AKA) terms
3. Industry Stakeholder Definition
4. Cardholder/Customer Definition
An example of a term in the document is the Cardholder Verification Method, or CVM:
| Recommended Standardized | AKA | Industry Stakeholder Definition | Cardholder/Customer Definition |
| Cardholder Verification Method
(CVM) |
CVM | In the context of a transaction, the method used to authenticate that the person presenting the card is the valid cardholder. EMV supports four CVMs: offline PIN (offline enciphered & plain text), online PIN, signature verification and no CVM. All CVMs can be available on all payment types (credit, debit and prepaid) as defined by the issuer. The merchant chooses which CVMs they will support. The issuer sets a prioritized list of methods on the chip for verification of the cardholder. | Not required |
"The Standardization of Terminology" was developed as part of an initiative led by Sue Ross, Business Leader at MasterCard. The document will be updated periodically based on EMV Migration Forum member and industry feedback.
The EMV Migration Forum began operations in August 2012 and has already grown to over 120 member companies including leading payments brands, financial institutions, merchants, payments processors, acquirers, regional debit networks, industry suppliers and industry associations. Forum Working Committees include the Communication & Education Working Committee, U.S. Coordination Working Committee, Testing & Certification Working Committee and Debit Working Committee. For more information on the Forum and membership, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-emv-migration-forum.
About U.S. EMV Migration
Commonly used globally in place of magnetic stripe, EMV chip technology drastically reduces card fraud in a face-to-face card-present environment; provides global interoperability; and enables safer and smarter transactions across cards and contactless channels. American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa have all announced their plans for supporting an EMV-based payments infrastructure in the U.S., with acquirer processor readiness mandates to support chip data in place for 2013, and 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 an alignment of the EMV implementation steps required for global and regional payment networks, issuers, processors, merchants, and consumers to ensure a successful introduction of more secure EMV contact and contactless 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.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-emv-migration-forum.
###