EMVCo[1] is to launch an initiative to evaluate the role of wireless technologies not yet covered in its specifications — including Wi-Fi, ultra wideband (UWB), Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and mobile data — in creating “flexible and convenient payment experiences”, the technical body’s annual report reveals.
It also plans to publish updated versions of both its EMV contact chip and EMV secure remote commerce (SRC) specification, release an SRC testing programme, and introduce payment terminal testing to ensure that devices are enabled for elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) in addition to a testing programme to verify that smartphones used as payment acceptance devices offer “consistent and seamless tap-to-pay experiences”.
The annual report reveals that there are now nearly 11bn EMV chip payment cards in circulation worldwide (10.82bn) representing more than two thirds of cards issued (66.4%) and accounting for 88.5% of all card-present transactions.
“The future of payments is about choice and convenience, and emerging payments technologies are supporting new ways in which consumers engage and pay for goods and services,” EMVCo’s Jinhua Ni says.
“Looking ahead, EMV specifications have an important role to play in providing a common and flexible foundation for the delivery of new payment methods and options that make it easy for consumers to pay how they want — whether in-store or online.
“As we consider technical initiatives and plans for 2022 — such as support for wireless payments and using EMV QR codes to trigger the use of EMV secure remote commerce — key to our efforts is the ongoing collaboration with the EMVCo community and continued engagement with technical bodies and industry associations around the world.”
The report identities key EMVCo developments in 2021 as including the launch of updated EMV chip specifications to support ECC[2], updated contactless payment
