US Payments Forum Market Snapshot: Updates on EMV in the Petroleum Environment, Mobile Payments for Transit and Current Forum Priorities


PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Dec. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Payments Forum today released its latest Market Snapshot, providing a look at the state of EMV chip adoption in the U.S. petroleum industry, trending topics within the industry, and current Forum priorities and projects.

State of the Market: Updates on EMV-at-the-pump certification and the approaching liability shift

With the fraud liability shift for the outdoor petroleum environment less than a year away, EMV implementation and certification are top-of-mind for the industry. Forty-two percent of petroleum retailers have reported that they are or will be certified by the liability shift in a recent Conexxus survey, pointing to cost, testing and certification, and a lack of available software as the main challenges to implementation. Retailers in the petroleum environment are encouraged to upgrade and certify hardware even with software not available rather than waiting to make the transition in one phase.

As the remaining fuel retailers continue to work toward upgrades, the industry is exploring ways to mitigate fraud that arises after the liability shift, including point-to-point encryption (P2PE) and address verification.

“With unique requirements for EMV implementation at the fuel pump, there’s been a big push to support petroleum retailers during this transition period,” said Randy Vanderhoof, director of the U.S. Payments Forum. “Many stakeholders are seeking ways to provide more education and cost-effective solutions for smaller independent operators and those with barriers to implementation and certification. Part of this work includes investigating ways to help those that aren’t likely to meet the liability shift date.”

The U.S. Payments Forum recognizes that implementation poses unique challenges for this industry, and is prioritizing guidance to help petroleum retailers navigate the process. A recent resource the Forum has published, “Options for Reducing Level 3 EMV Certification Time for Retailer Systems using Electronic Payment Servers,” provides guidance that can help reduce the implementation time and effort required to meet the date.

With upgrades to EMV at the pump and new use cases arising, customer experience is also coming into focus for many retailers in the petroleum industry. Some are beginning to consider how mobile and contactless payments can aid usability, evaluating how they can fit into retail payment strategies after implementing contact EMV at the pump.

Trending Topics: Different environments call for different payment technologies

Similar to petroleum, many other markets are looking to contactless and mobile as a way to provide secure, frictionless payments. Media reports have been debating which payment method will lead the market, but ultimately the Forum predicts that consumer choice between the two will be scenario-dependent across all industries, driven by factors including convenience, habit and availability. Transit is one industry in particular that has made significant headway with both types of transactions.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) OMNY system, which started its pilot in May of this year, has been one implementation in focus for the Forum. MTA reported that 80% of the system’s transactions use digital wallets for payment.

Transit may also see more contactless card usage as issuance ramps up in the U.S. -- along with other industries. The major payment networks have committed to issuing contactless cards, and 78% of the top 100 U.S. merchants are equipped with contactless-capable terminals. Acquirers have noted that 40% of new certification requests are for contactless, and the other 60% for certification of terminals that are both contact and contactless. With this uptick in contactless, the Forum has made education around the consumer experience with contactless a priority, releasing the white paper, “Consumer Experience at the Contactless Point-of-Sale.”

Forum Priorities

As more payments move to the online space, authentication technologies are more important than ever. The U.S. Payments Forum and its members are working on several projects providing education and implementation guidance around emerging authentication methodologies for securing the e-commerce channel, including EMV 3-D Secure (3DS), EMV Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) and tokenization.

The Forum has numerous EMV and emerging technology-related Forum projects currently underway, including:

  • A white paper on payment networks’ requirements on supporting Magnetic Stripe Data (MSD) mode and EMV mode contactless for cards and acceptance devices in the U.S. market
  • A webinar on dual-interface (contact and contactless) card personalization
  • A resource on device authentication and cardholder verification techniques for mobile in-app and remote payments
  • A primer on EMV 3-D Secure
  • A glossary of card-not-present fraud tools
  • A white paper on cardholder verification method (CVM) choice at unattended terminals
  • A guide providing best practices on customer messaging for transit contactless open payments
  • A white paper providing recommendations to enhance the understanding of common EMV terminology used in certification intake forms
  • A project documenting retailer and financial institution use cases for mobile driver’s licenses

Resource Recap

The U.S. Payments Forum published the following resources over the past quarter:

Additional resources on contact and contactless chip and other new and emerging technologies are available through the U.S. Payments Forum at www.uspaymentsforum.orgwww.emvconnection.comwww.getcontactless.com and @USPaymentsForum.

About the U.S. Payments Forum

The U.S. Payments Forum is a cross-industry body focused on supporting the introduction and implementation of new and emerging technologies that protect the security of, and enhance opportunities for payment transactions within the U.S. The Forum is the only non-profit organization whose membership includes the whole payments ecosystem, ensuring that all stakeholders have the opportunity to coordinate, cooperate on, and have a voice in the future of the U.S. payments industry.

Contact
Adrian Loth
Montner Tech PR
203-226-9290
aloth@montner.com