Committees Prepare for Next EMV Migration Forum Meeting

Committees serving an independent organization seeking to help the U.S. payments industry prepare for its conversion to EMV smartcard and contactless technology have begun examining key aspects of the transition.

Those committees will explain their goals and timelines when the EMV Migration Forum meets Dec. 6 and 7 at Visa Inc.'s location in Foster City, Calif.

The forum, created by the Smart Card Alliance, emphasizes meeting the card brand's implementation steps during the migration from magnetic-stripe technology to the EMV contact and contactless technology in the U.S.

The forum conducted its first meeting in September, with merchants, acquirers, processors and issuers discussing various concerns and positions on the many aspects of the EMV migration to the more secure smartcard for chip-and-PIN or chip-and-signature transactions. 

Many organizations involved in the forum have already added volunteer representatives on the four working committees that were formed at the first meeting.

Those committees will focus on debit and EMV, communication and education, achieving U.S. coordination, and certification and testing.

The committees meet regularly by phone to establish objectives, coordinate their mission with the goals of the full organization, and establish initial projects, a forum press release stated.

The rapid growth of forum membership to 38 organizations "is a positive sign" for the industry, indicating that EMV migration timelines are being taken seriously, Randy Vanderhoof, acting director of the EMV Migration Forum, stated in the press release.

"Our members see a real value in being a part of the only neutral cross-industry forum of organizations that includes everyone with a key role in EMV migration in the U.S." Vanderhoof said.