Calls for industry cooperation

We noticed calls for cooperation from two distinct sectors of the payments industry on May 21, 2012: one to work for Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) technology implementation in the United States; the other for an international, coordinated effort to fight cyber attacks.

MasterCard seeks EMV cooperation

MasterCard Worldwide is forming a multi-industry group to help networks, issuers, merchants, acquirers, processors, terminal manufacturers, card manufacturers and others to implement EMV in the United States.

Chris McWilton, MasterCard President of U.S. Markets, said, "Industry collaboration has proven to be critical to the successful migration to EMV in other parts of the world. It's our goal to bring the industry together in an objective forum."

MasterCard envisions the group focusing primarily on providing guidance on technical issues and standardization; creating common terms, descriptions and guidelines for EMV devices; and sharing and implementing best practices.

MasterCard said discussions on forming the group have begun, and it will release more details "over the next few weeks."

Swift Exchange champions global response

Richard Postrel, Chief Executive Officer and founder of loyalty program provider Swift Exchange, called for an internationally coordinated response to cyber attacks. His call to action followed recent discussions held by the United States and China on the growing threat of cyber attack. Global police network Interpol estimates cyber crime will cost Europe alone more than $977 billion annually by 2014.

In a May 21 statement, Postrel referred to remarks he made at his company's Cyber Security Forum in Washington in April 2012. At that event, he said countries such as Iran, China, Russia, North Korea and others are "hard at work recruiting legions of cyber terrorists capable of launching all-out war." It is for this reason he is calling for "heightened" international cooperation to fight back against cyber crime.

Postrel said participants in the Cyber Security Forum included representatives from the U.S. Department of State, the FBI's Cyber Division, the National Security Administration and other government agencies. The forum was co-sponsored by the global law firm DLA Piper.

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