EMVCo publishes entry point specification

A Step Towards a Common EMV Contactless Application

EMVCo, the EMV standards body owned by JCB Co., Ltd, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa Inc., has published the EMV Entry Point Specification, an interoperable terminal specification which allows a single terminal to process contactless payments from cards or tokens regardless of whether they support a JCB, MasterCard or Visa contactless payment application.

“When a contactless card is presented for payment, the Entry Point Specification allows a terminal to read the card data and direct the transaction to the relevant payment systems’ payment application on the terminal for processing,” comments Kazuhiro Matsumoto, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Global Infrastructure and Technologies at JCB Co., Ltd. and Chairman of the EMVCo Executive Committee. “It is a multi-kernel approach managed by an overarching layer – the Entry Point – which allows the payment systems’ proprietary applications to co-exist on a terminal with future contactless applications.”

Art Kranzley, Group Executive, Advanced Payments at MasterCard Worldwide and member of the EMVCo Executive Committee, adds: “There have been significant investments made in the deployment of contactless programmes by payment systems, financial institutions and merchants around the world. The Entry Point Specification will support the existing contactless applications already installed on a large base of cards and terminals globally, while ensuring future support for additional or evolving contactless applications.”

To support the release of the Entry Point Specification, EMVCo has published a related document titled the EMV Contactless Specification for Payment Systems, Framework for Contactless Evolution v1.0. This document provides the context for, and explains in detail, EMVCo’s approach to developing a contactless payments infrastructure.

Roger Swales, Head of Global Cross-Products and Acceptance at Visa Inc. and member of the EMVCo Executive Committee, concludes: “The Entry Point application on terminals is designed to accommodate multiple migration paths and provide payment systems with the flexibility to continue to develop their own contactless solutions. Entry Point’s modular architecture helps to ensure that terminals can support future proprietary application enhancements, as well as an EMV Contactless Application, with greater ease.”

For further information on the specification or EMVCo visit www.emvco.com.