In an announcement released Monday, MasterCard formally proposed the formation of a cross-industry group of payments ecosystem stakeholders to smooth implementation of EMV in the United States. Such a group, once formed, would be able to provide “guidance on non-proprietary technical issues,” maintain common terminology and standards associated with EMV and its deployment, and share best practices for implementation and “consumer education.” According to a report from PaymentsSource.com, Visa said it is still waiting for an invitation to join the group. From MasterCard’s press release:
In introducing its roadmap in January, MasterCard emphasized the need for the payments ecosystem to be aligned regarding the implementation of EMV standards in the U.S. Additionally, MasterCard introduced the need for securing all channels, including the ATM, and expressed a commitment to take a leadership role in delivering the maximum benefits to consumers and the industry from the EMV migration.
“We recognize that this next step toward a world beyond cash has raised a number of questions among our customers from baseline standards to timelines and implications,” said Chris McWilton, president, U.S. Markets, MasterCard. “Industry collaboration has proven to be critical to the successful migration to EMV in other parts of the world. It’s our goal to bring the industry together in an objective forum. This will continue to move the U.S. forward and allow all to gain the maximum advantage from the upgrade to EMV.”
“We support the efforts to bring all parties involved in EMV together,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director, Smart Card Alliance. “It is critical that the industry come together to collaborate around key topics to have a common framework and processes in place to ensure a successful upgrade of U.S. payments technology. We look forward to discussing how the Smart Card Alliance can play a key role in the formation of this industry forum.”
Initial discussions to solidify the activation of this group have begun. Specific details will be made available over the next few weeks, as the industry continues to join together and the formal structure of the group is formed.
Click here to read more from the press release.