News

EMVCo publishes framework for payment tokenization spec

March 11, 2014

EMVCo has announced the release of "The EMV Payment Tokenization Specification — Technical Framework v1.0," a document designed to allow payments industry members to develop interoperable tokenization solutions.

The new specification offers the payments community — merchants, acquirers, issuers and mobile and digital secure payments providers — the framework to create a consistent, secure and globally interoperable environment for digital payments via mobile handset, tablet, personal computer or other smart device, an EMVCo news release said.

The document describes the role the specification will have in facilitating broad-based acceptance of a payment token as a replacement for a traditional card account number. This includes data message formats to ensure the interoperability of tokens and the consistent approach that should be used to route and authenticate a payment token.

By offering its own framework, the global technical body hopes to encourage industry adoption of an interoperable, globally accepted standard.

"There are a variety of tokenization systems in existence already," said EMVCo board of managers chair Christina Hulka. "[O]ur specification work will aim to provide a globally aligned technical framework for payment tokens. This will ensure consistency in data fields and the ability for transactions to gateway successfully throughout the payment ecosystem. By engaging with interested parties we can ensure that industry needs are met across stakeholders. This will enable us to create a standardized, secure and reliable environment across all payment channels."

The new specification will maintain compatibility with the current payment infrastructure and will be complementary to existing EMV chip specifications.

EMVCo is encouraging interested parties to download the document from the EMVCo website and engage in ongoing payment tokenization development activity through its established feedback program, which is open to all industry stakeholders.