July 18, 2012
Electronic payment solution provider Clear2Pay and FIME, a provider of consulting and testing services for smart devices and secure chip-based applications, have announced an extension of their partnership to support U.S. FIs and processors with a swift and reliable migration to the EMV standard.
Both companies have already been working closely for several years in delivering secure and interoperable payment testing solutions, services and EMV certification assistance in Europe and other EMV territories.
However, research by the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) suggests that 75 percent of respondents in the United States do not yet have a clear roadmap for EMV migration or insight into the cost associated with migration.
"In a country where 'plastic' represents a very high payment volume, EMV migration heavily impacts all touch points across the entire process chain," said Ian Kerr, general manager of Clear2Pay open test solutions. "As the [ATMIA] research underpins, it is hard for banks, processors and merchants to understand the full impact, cost and indeed benefit upfront. Both FIME and Clear2Pay have a track record in supporting EMV implementations around the world and are therefore well positioned to assist banks and processors in this challenging journey... Whilst the US migration to EMV is not an exact mirror exercise from expertise in other areas, there are many similar elements and the lessons learned will prove valuable for a U.S.-specific track to EMV."
"To ensure optimum return on investment, issuers must understand today's requirements as well as be flexible to future market needs," said Pascal Le Ray, general manager at FIME. "This is not easy, as it is a complex landscape with markets converging to ensure different business and technical models can be successfully and securely implemented. Working with Clear2Pay and FIME, issuers will be guided through the process, reducing product time to market while ensuring the implementation of a sustainable and scalable EMV solution."
For more on this topic, visit the EMV research center.
The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.