WESTWOOD, N.J.-Ten debit networks agreed last week to adopt a common U.S. debit application identifier and work with Discover Financial Services to license the D-Payment Application Specification, known as D-PAS, as the foundation for a common U.S. debit chip payment platform.
The Secure Remote Payments Council will also evaluate enhancing the specification's security by including the one-time card number technology developed by First Data / STAR specifically to mitigate skimming and data breach frauds. The move comes a year after implementation of the Durbin amendment and its impact on the debit market, including the implementation of a two-tiered pricing system and new requirements on routing.
In Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., CO-OP Financial Services, which voted for the plan, said adoption of a common U.S. debit application is important to credit unions because it preserves their routing and network choices in connection with the emerging EMV standard. "As a founding member of the workgroup, CO-OP has actively participated in the SRPC to represent the interests of credit unions, and we will continue to help drive next steps, both in governance and deployment of the common U.S. debit AID and application," said Stan Hollen, president of CO-OP Financial.
The other debit networks signing on are AFFN, ATH, Jeanie, NETS, NYCE, Presto! PULSE, SHAZAM and STAR.
The decision comes after months of evaluation of several proposals-including the most recent AID proposals by MasterCard and Visa. The group's next steps will be to finalize its governance structure and identify commercialization steps for deploying the common U.S. debit solution.
Wait Until 2014
"While this solution simplifies efforts for the industry, commercialization will take time," said Hollen. "Given that EMV is being driven by liability shifts, not regulatory or network mandates, we recommend that issuers wait until 2014 before moving forward with their business case for EMV deployment in order to ensure that the market is ready."
Unless all debit networks ultimately participate in the proposed solution, industry stakeholders may need to support a multi-application chip environment for debit in the U.S.
