Terminal Tech Lingo Defined
What's likely to replace legacy mag-stripe card payment technology?
EMV (Euro MasterCard Visa)
EMV is the global standard for credit and debit card payments with embedded microprocessor chips that store and protect encrypted account user data. EMV supports both international cards and growing domestic issuers with Chip & PIN but also Chip & Signature and Chip and No Signature implementations.
(Read more: EMV Facts to Know)
NFC (Near Field Communication)
By adapting the core EMV standard, NFC chip technology embedded into smart phones will transform the payment experience at checkout. Smart phones are predicted to become the payment choice of consumers who would rather tap a mobile phone against a contactless reader than dig around and search for a payment card. The industry is already moving to mobile phones to conduct contactless payments. Several pilots have been launched in the U.S. of NFC technology to deliver contactless payment capabilities including digital wallet applications from Google Wallet, Isis and others.
Contactless (ex. PayWave, PayPass)
Supports wave and pay chip cards and smart phones. Contactless payments are thought to be the most important card payment innovation in the last decade. With investments by the card associations and early adoption on the part of major card issuers and top-branded merchants - contactless payments are already in the hands of millions of consumers and in the checkout lane of thousands of merchants.
Look for this common acceptance mark for contactless payments at the point of sale.