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MasterCard International and Visa International have reached an agreement to share a common communications protocol and associated testing requirements for radio frequency-based contactless payments at the retail point of sale.
The agreed protocol is based on the MasterCard's PayPass ISO/IEC 14443 Implementation Specification. Contactless payments, such as the MasterCard PayPass and Visa Contactless programmes, allow cardholders to checkout more quickly and remove the need to take payment cards or cash to retail stores that provide the service.
The new agreement means that cards and terminals supporting MasterCard and Visa contactless payment applications will all conform to the same communications protocol, and undergo equivalent testing. The use of a common protocol for conducting contactless payments will enable vendors to streamline product development and testing, leading to reduced implementation costs and faster time-to-market for financial institutions and merchants.
In effect, with a common protocol in place, merchants have an assurance that a single point of sale terminal can support multiple payment brands - and less time will be needed for terminal programming and testing.
"Agreeing to one common standard benefits all," said Art Kranzley, executive vice president of advanced payments solutions for MasterCard International. "Merchants and terminal vendors can now invest and deploy contactless devices with confidence, knowing they will only have to develop and support one communications specification."
"Building on the work of EMV, this common protocol is a first step toward the full development of contactless payment systems," added Gaylon Howe, executive vice president of global product platforms for Visa International. "Supporting a single common protocol will accelerate migration toward electronic payments, and result in more payment choices for consumers."
According to MasterCard, contactless payments can significantly increase convenience for consumers and are ideal for quick payment environments where speed is essential (such as quick service restaurants, fuel forecourts, drug stores, supermarkets, and theatres). The technology also opens up new opportunities for merchants to accept card-based payments in unattended sales environments, such as vending machines and toll plazas.
For additional information:
· Visit Visa at http://www.corporate.visa.com
· Visit MasterCard at http://www.mastercardinternational.com
Sources: MasterCard International; Visa International
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