Options for Reducing Level 3 EMV Certification Time for Retailer Systems using Electronic Payment Servers
Publication Date: May 2020
The U.S. Payments Forum Testing and Certification Working Committee developed this white paper to discuss solutions to help reduce the implementation time and effort required for the automatic fuel dispenser (AFD) community to meet the October 2020 fraud liability shift deadline. The white paper documents the “Redundancy Reduction Approach (RRA)” – an approach that may reduce the number of formal Level 3 (L3) certifications required, reduce time lags when a solution is being certified, and reduce wait time between submission, review and response.
The white paper covers the following:
- Definition of the certification challenges faced by the AFD community
- Description of the electronic payment server (EPS) semi-integrated architecture used by AFD and other retailers
- Overview description of the RRA that may reduce implementation time and effort
- Documentation of recommended solutions and options from global payment networks and domestic payment networks to reduce time in L3 EMV certification testing
The defined approach and solutions are not intended to cut any corners in testing and certifying EMV implementations, and the necessary and applicable test cases for each payment network are preserved. The approach achieves its goals by, among other things, helping to empower ISVs, solution providers and merchants to test on their own, rely on card log results, and reduce time between testing and reviewing results.
Merchants are advised to reach out to their payment networks and acquirer processors to determine which networks and processors support the Redundancy Reduction Approach or other self-certification programs.
Additional resources on EMV testing and certification from the U.S. Payments Forum include:
- EMV Level 3 Contactless Certification Recommended Solutions to Reduce Deployment Time, resource discussing challenges and potential solutions to implementation and deployment of Level 3 (L3) certified EMV contactless implementations for merchants
- EMV Testing and Certification: Current Global Payment Network Requirements for the U.S. Acquiring Community white paper, providing current acquirer host and EMV chip terminal testing requirements relevant to the U.S. market.
The April 2020 update includes additional information on payment network recommended solutions in Section 5.2.
Please note: The information and materials available on this web page (“Information”) is provided solely for convenience and does not constitute legal or technical advice. All representations or warranties, express or implied, are expressly disclaimed, including without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose and all warranties regarding accuracy, completeness, adequacy, results, title and non-infringement. All Information is limited to the scenarios, stakeholders and other matters specified, and should be considered in light of applicable laws, regulations, industry rules and requirements, facts, circumstances and other relevant factors. None of the Information should be interpreted or construed to require or promote the establishment of any solution, practice, configuration, rule, requirement or specification inconsistent with applicable legal requirements, any of which requirements may change over time. The U.S. Payments Forum assumes no responsibility to support, maintain or update the Information, regardless of any such change. Use of or reliance on the Information is at the user’s sole risk, and users are strongly encouraged to consult with their respective payment networks, acquirers, processors, vendors and appropriately qualified technical and legal experts prior to all implementation decisions.