EMV

EMVCo manages, maintains and enhances the EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications for chip-based payment cards and acceptance devices, including Point Of Sale (POS) terminals and ATM (Automated Teller Machine). EMVCo is currently owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa.

A primary goal of EMVCo and the EMV Specifications is to help facilitate global interoperability and compatibility of chip-based payment cards and acceptance devices. This objective extends to new types of payment devices as well, including contactless payment and mobile payment.
EMVCo also administers a testing and approval process, and oversees the procedures for confirming compliance with the EMV standards. These activities include compliance testing for both chip-based payment accepting devices and payment cards for both the Common Core Definitions (CCD) and Common Payment Application (CPA) specifications. The testing process and procedures help ensure cross-payment system interoperability, which is the over-arching goal of the EMV specifications and EMVCo.(1)

EMVCo issues a series of type approvals in card issuing, acceptance and acquiring, for payment systems that have been tested by ELITT and that have been certified. The EMVCo approval allows the manufacturers to sell their products on the EMV market.


(1) - Source: EMVCo