What EMVCo does
EMVCo writes specifications and runs the programmes that support them, so that card-based payment products work together across countries. Its work is overseen by the six member organisations that own it, and the technologies it lists are:
- Contact chip and contactless chip
- 3-D Secure
- Payment tokenisation
- Secure Remote Commerce
- QR codes
- Mobile, and Level 3 testing
What EMVCo does not do
EMVCo does not mandate or enforce EMV compliance. Its own description says that the implementation policies for issuers, merchants and acquirers are handled by the payment networks, independently and outside EMVCo.
So a deadline to support a version of 3-D Secure comes from Visa, Mastercard or another scheme, not from EMVCo. The same holds for its registers: EMVCo assigns each token service provider a three-digit code, and says that it does not evaluate, approve or endorse those providers.
Where a payments product meets EMVCo
Rarely face to face. A terminal or a SoftPOS app runs contactless software built to EMV specifications, a gateway integrates 3-D Secure components built to them, and a card's chip is personalised to an EMV profile.
The practical point is knowing which document governs a question: the EMV specification for how a message is built, and the scheme's rules for whether it is required.
Where EMVCo shows up in a platform
Modules that do the work
- Card acquiringCard acceptance on the phone, in store and online, through the acquirer you choose.
- Card issuingVirtual and physical cards, wallets and controls, on the issuer processor you choose.
- CheckoutA hosted checkout for cards, wallets, bank payments and crypto, routed to the best provider.
Platforms that need it
Guides that go deeper
Where it is written
The laws and standards this page's facts come from.
General information, not legal advice: what applies to you depends on your services and your market.