Payment technology provider Cayan says it has become one of fewer than 20 American companies to earn Level 2 EMV certification from standards governing body EMVCo.
Cayan's Genius software platform serves both point of sale developers and merchants, said Marc Castrechini, vice president of product management for Boston-based Cayan.
The Cayan payment software also integrates with any independent sales organizations or value-added seller channels.
Cayan has been preparing its partners and customers for the migration to EMV chip-based cards in the U.S. By completing the Level 2 certification, the company can now streamline customers' preparations for the October EMV liability shift.
On Oct. 1, the party not able to accept or process EMV card payments will be liable for any fraud at the physical point of sale, according to rules set by the major U.S. card networks.
"Cayan understands that EMV adoption is incredibly important in the U.S.," Castrechini said. "We're all too familiar with payments and data breaches, and this is one step toward creating a more secure payments ecosystem."
Cayan will focus on the small retailers that may not be fully converted to EMV by October.
Because Cayan's Genius is certified at Level 2 for software, any merchant with EMV-ready hardware that uses Genius would be certified at Level 1 and 2, and needs only to complete Level 3, which is EMV certification through a processor, Castrechini said.
Cayan recommends any EMV-compliant hardware, often either Ingenico or Verifone terminals and PIN pads, Castrechini added.
Genius supports Near Field Communication-based mobile payments, QR/bar code payments, and manually entered and swiped credit and debit transactions.
Cayan also has offices in Belfast, Ireland.
