Busy month for the SCA

Migration, road maps and transit were the themes in a busy September 2012 for the Smart Card Alliance, the multi-industry association working for the adoption of smart card technology, specifically the Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) standard for global interoperability of payment cards containing integrated circuits, or chips.

EMV migration

At the inaugural EMV Migration Forum held Sept. 12 and 13 at MasterCard Worldwide headquarters in Purchase, N.Y., 130 industry participants discussed the way forward for adoption of EMV in the United States. At the event, attendees took part in interactive panels and discussion groups.

Randy Vanderhoof, Acting Director of the EMV Migration Forum and Executive Director of the SCA, said the attendees agreed there must be more industry education, a consistent cardholder experience, implementation of EMV best practices, and more industry collaboration in order for the migration to be successful.

Industry resources

The forum created working committees on communication and education; EMV debit implementation in the United States; certification and testing requirements; and cross-industry coordination topics. The next meeting is being scheduled for late fall 2012. For more information, go to www.emv-connection.com/emv-migration-forum .

Also, in late September, the SCA re-released an updated educational white paper, Card Payments Roadmap in the United States: How Will EMV Impact the Future Payments Infrastructure? The paper contains new information for 2012 and is available on the SCA's website, www.smartcardalliance.org .

Transit fare technology

New fare collection systems that accept open bankcard payments are proving to be successful payment alternatives for mass transit, the Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council reported from its September 2012 meeting in Philadelphia. Open payments are those made via contactless bankcards for fare payment directly at the customer's point of entry, for example, at a subway gate or on a bus.

Vanderhoof said the meeting brought together transit agencies of varying sizes from around the country to discuss strategies and best practices for deploying new smart card-based fare collection systems. He noted that the agencies came away with a deeper understanding of how to take advantage of new technologies such as open payment and mobile ticketing and the benefits these technologies bring to both agency and customer.

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