EMV Debit Solution Helps Accelerate Chip Technology Adoption in the
U.S.
FOSTER CITY, Calif. & HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) and PULSE, a Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS)
company, announced an agreement to enable financial institutions that
issue EMV debit cards on both the Visa and PULSE networks to use Visa’s
common debit solution. Visa’s common application identifier (AID)
supports U.S. debit regulations requiring the ability to route
transactions over multiple, unaffiliated networks. A common debit
solution shared among all participants will help to accelerate EMV chip
adoption in the United States and provide a uniform platform that will
enable network innovation.
“It’s important for the industry to work together, especially when it
comes to the adoption of EMV chip,” said Bill Sheedy, executive vice
president of Corporate Strategy and Government Relations, Visa Inc. “Our
common solution is an asset we are making available to the industry free
of charge to provide issuers and merchants greater choice among debit
networks and enable a streamlined implementation for all parties. The
addition of PULSE in Visa’s EMV common debit solution, which now has
been adopted by 4 of the top 5 debit networks, provides a level of
clarity that we hope will jump start mainstream adoption of EMV
technology for debit in the U.S.”
"Our network has been EMV-capable since October 2013, which will enable
us to support transactions using the Visa common AID with minimal
updates to our existing specification,” said Judith McGuire, executive
vice president, Product Management, PULSE. “With this agreement,
merchants and acquirers can develop their systems to support the full
range of debit routing options available through PULSE, including PIN,
signature and PINless transactions.”
Patricia Hewitt, vice president and managing director of consulting
services at Mercator Advisory Group said, “This agreement addresses the
uncertainty that has plagued the advancement of EMV for the U.S. debit
market and signals that the industry is ready to move forward with the
broad adoption of EMV technology among U.S. debit issuers and acquirers.”
PULSE will use functionality on Visa’s common AID to facilitate all
types of point-of-sale debit transactions on its network. In addition,
the agreement enables PULSE to facilitate domestic ATM transactions on
its network and provides for issuer choice in the routing of ATM
transactions.
About Visa Inc.: Visa is a global payments technology company
that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions, and
governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure
and reliable electronic payments. We operate one of the world’s most
advanced processing networks — VisaNet — that is capable of handling
more than 30,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection
for consumers and assured payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank and
does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers.
Visa’s innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers
to offer consumers more choices: pay now with debit, ahead of time with
prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit corporate.visa.com.
About PULSE: PULSE, a Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS)
company, is a leading debit/ATM network, serving approximately 6,100
financial institutions across the United States. This includes more than
4,100 issuers with which PULSE has direct relationships and 2,000
additional issuers through agreements PULSE has with other debit
networks. PULSE links cardholders with ATMs and POS terminals at retail
locations nationwide. Through its global ATM network, PULSE provides
worldwide cash access for Diners Club and Discover cardholders through
1.3 million ATM locations. The company also is a source of electronic
payments research and is committed to providing its participants with
education on emerging products, services and trends in the payments
industry. For more information, visit www.pulsenetwork.com.
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Source: Visa Inc. and PULSE