US Payments Forum: Chip-on-Chip Transactions for Credit Cards Is More Than 50%

The U.S. Payments Forum today released its winter 2018 market snapshot, providing updates on the status of the U.S. EMV chip migration and contactless payments, 2018 priorities to address technologies for securing online transactions, and recently-released resources for the payments industry.

State of the Market: EMV Enablement Growth in Retail Petroleum and Other New Markets

At the Forum’s December 2017 Member Meeting, several of the global payment networks reported that the number of chip-on-chip transactions for credit cards is over 50 percent, and purchase value is over 60 percent. This can be attributed to the significant growth in merchant enablement seen over the past year. Today, 96 percent of the top 200 merchants are now accepting chip payments compared to 29 percent of merchants at the beginning of 2017.

In addition to the steady growth in the retail segment, there has also been progress made in other markets, including retail petroleum. U.S. Payments Forum members reported a slight increase in chip transaction volumes at retail petroleum pumps.

“It is encouraging to see new chip transactions at fuel pumps and we anticipate an increase in enablement in this segment in 2018,” said Randy Vanderhoof, director of the U.S. Payments Forum. “As a segment with special implementation considerations for enabling outdoor environments to accept chip, the Forum encourages these merchants to continue with their migration plans to allow enough time to meet the fraud liability shift dates in 2020.”

 

The U.S. Payments Forum’s Petroleum Working Committee has developed resources to aid the petroleum industry in a smooth migration to chip, including the Petroleum Industry: EMV FAQ, and a webinar recording, “Accepting EMV Chip Payments at the Fuel Pump.” More information about the Petroleum Working Committee is available at http://www.uspaymentsforum.org/working-committees-sigs/petroleum-working-committee/.

Trending Topics: The Future of Contactless Payments

In countries like the UK, Canada and Australia, contactless card and mobile payments have become popular following initial EMV chip card rollouts. Is there potential for a similar future in the U.S. where, today, contactless accounts for a relatively small number of transactions? According to the U.S. Payments Forum, transit could be a driver for contactless adoption to increase in the U.S.

“Transit has been a driving factor for contactless adoption in other countries, particularly in the UK, where in the summer of 2017, Transport for London (TfL) reported reaching one billion contactless transactions across London’s transportation network. As more contactless chip cards are issued and consumers get used to using them for transit, they naturally become inclined to use their contactless card everywhere contactless payment is available. In the U.S., we are seeing major transit agencies like New York City’s MTA and Boston’s MBTA announce plans to implement contactless open payments fare systems, so we could see similar trends in those regions,” Vanderhoof said.

The U.S. Payments Forum’s Transit Contactless Open Payments Working Committee is helping to identify the requirements to make contactless payments in transit a success in the U.S. The Working Committee recently released a resource addressing pay-as-you-go/single-ride fares scenarios using EMV contactless cards, and providing the technological framework needed to make contactless open payments in this scenario a reality. For more information on the Transit Contactless Open Payments Working Committee, visit http://www.uspaymentsforum.org/working-committees-sigs/transit-contactless-open-payments-working-committee/.

Forum Priorities

Online transaction security and related technologies, such as EMV 3D Secure and payment tokenization, are top of mind for the U.S. Payments Forum in 2018.

“With the migration to EMV well underway, securing transactions in other channels is a primary industry focus,” Vanderhoof said. “With the unique makeup of U.S. Payments Forum membership, including those directly involved in the development of standards like EMV 3D Secure and the EMV payment tokenization specification, the Forum is uniquely suited to provide resources to aid in the implementation of these technologies to bring the same level of security to online payments as we did with EMV to the card-present channel.”

 

Members of the merchant and issuing communities, as well as other stakeholders across the payments industry that are interested in having a more active voice in the U.S. implementation of emerging payments technologies, are encouraged to participate in the U.S. Payments Forum’s next meeting to share their experiences, as well as to learn from their peers. Visit http://www.uspaymentsforum.org to learn more joining the Forum, attending quarterly Forum meetings and participating in working committees. The next Forum member meeting, being held in conjunction with the Secure Technology Alliance Payments Summit, will take place March 27-29, 2018 in ChampionsGate, Florida at the Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate.

Resource Recap

Over the last quarter, the U.S. Payments Forum has published the following resources on EMV implementation and optimization guidance:

• “EMV Troubleshooting Guide for ATM Owners and Operators” white paper. This resource provides recommendations to help ATM owners prevent common transaction issues, and offers suggestions for troubleshooting problems when they occur.
• EMV Contactless Testing & Certification Workshop for VARs, ISVs and ISOs workshop. The Testing and Certification Working Committee held a workshop to review requirements for EMV contactless testing and certification in the U.S.
• “EMV Testing and Certification: Current Global Payment Network Requirements for the U.S. Acquiring Community” white paper. This resource provides the most up-to-date requirements and processes from the global payment networks, includes testing and certification requirements for Quick Chip and M/Chip Fast implementations, and includes information on contactless EMV certification and testing processes.
• “Optimizing Transaction Speed at the Point of Sale” updated white paper. This white paper focuses on several categories of approaches to help speed transactions and discusses their potential impacts for each stakeholder group in the U.S. payments ecosystem. 

To read the fall 2017 market snapshot, visit http ://www.uspaymentsforum.org/us-payments-forum-fall-2017-market-snapshot-merchant-emv-chip-enablement-on-the-upswing-considerations-for-issuers-first-reissuance-cycle-and-getting-the-market-ready-for-3ds-2-0/.

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.