Thales e-Security today announced the launch of the new EMV Migration Guide ,in partnership with all the major card industry leaders and VISA. The guide provides impartial advice to issuers on key challenges that need to be addressed before migrating to EMV. It also explores essential acquiring and terminal network issues upon which decisions must be made and lists critical questions that card issuers and acquirers need to ask. In addition, the EMV guide provides further information to support the decision-making process, including details of providers of relevant products and services.
The guide addresses the many issues card issuers have to be aware of before migrating to EMV. With the European migration date fast approaching and with other regions also beginning their migration process, the guide provides important information on migration timetables, testing periods, as well as which vendors they should choose to help facilitate the move. Issues the EMV guide highlights include:
- Details on EMV compliant financial and non-financial applications for smart cards
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Application security requirements that have to considered
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How to select the right sort of smart card platform
- Upgrading the existing back office systems
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Information regarding data preparation and card personalisation
The impact upon acquiring and terminal network challenges
The guide also makes clear the legal requirements banks face when migrating to EMV. It also provides details on all key technology vendors that are mentioned within the guide.
Paul Meadowcroft, head of transaction security at Thales e-Security, said: “The migration to EMV is one of the most significant challenges the global banking and card payments industry have faced. This guide, which builds on the overwhelming success of its predecessor, provides vital information from leading industry bodies and vendors on how to make the migration run smoothly and on time. Whether on target for the European deadline on January 1st, 2005, or just embarking on the process, as many Middle East and Asian banks are now doing, this Guide provides invaluable information.”
To download the EMV guide, please Click here .
Background on the EMV (Europay, Mastercard, Visa) smart card migration
The development of the smart card may well turn out to be one of the most fundamental changes yet seen by the global payments industry. Migration from magnetic stripe cards to EMV smart cards is a complex but necessary task, as a magnetic stripe simply cannot carry the strong security needed to keep cardholder details secret. As a result, fraud has grown rapidly and now costs the EU alone over €3.5 million a day.
With the 12-month deadline approaching, issuers need to bear in mind that the date appropriate to their region is not the starting gun for migration – it is the date by which the whole of their card base and its supporting infrastructure should be EMV compliant. Beyond these dates liability for fraudulent transactions will lie with magnetic stripe card issuers or acquirers, if it can be shown that the use of smart card technology would have prevented the fraud. Testing and any pilot scheme should be completed well before this date.
The major card associations have collaborated to develop the EMV standard, a mechanism by which the payments industry is seeking to ensure that cards, terminals and other systems will successfully interact, for debit and credit applications, wherever they are in the world. The EMV specifications describe core attributes including physical and electrical characteristics, how data and functions on the card are to be accessed, and how card security is structured, but they leave the detail of individual financial applications to card associations to define.
About Thales
Thales is a world leader in professional electronics in three key markets: Aerospace, Defence and Information Technology & Services (IT & S). The Group employs 63,000 people in nearly 50 countries worldwide, and generated revenues of over €11 billion in 2002.
Operating in three main markets covering e-security, card payment and network security, Thales e-Security addresses the business, government and finance industries’ need for cryptographic security products and solutions. Over half of the world’s banks, together with the majority of the busiest exchanges, currently use Thales technology. Visit Thales e-Security on the Web at www.thales-esecurity.com
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