SAN FRANCISCO, April 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leading payments consultancy FIME played an integral role in creating the U.S. EMV VAR Qualification Program. The program combines a chip education component and an accreditation program to streamline and simplify the testing and certification process for Value Added Resellers (VARs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs).
Through a coordinated, industry-wide effort with Payments Security Task Force, PCI Security Standards Council and the EMV Migration Forum , VARs and ISVs will be better equipped to integrate chip cards into small and mid-sized merchants' point-of-sales solutions in advance of the October 2015 liability shifts scheduled to go into effect by major U.S. payment networks.
"This program is a significant step in the right direction to streamline testing and certification processes as the U.S. migrates to EMV chip technology, and FIME is pleased to be a part of it," said Xavier Giandominici, director of FIME America. "VARs and ISVs that take advantage of this program will be better equipped to help merchants in their implementations of chip technology, and this preparation will accelerate the implementation of chip in the U.S."
The optional U.S. EMV VAR Qualification Program consists of these key components:
- An educational curriculum that provides a clear explanation of how to implement chip in the U.S. electronic payments marketplace
- A list of service providers independently accredited by the major payment networks to provide chip consulting and expertise
- A pre-qualification process run by the accredited service providers to help VARs and ISVs begin the implementation and testing process before they work with acquirers to achieve final certification
FIME participated in the development of the program and recognizes the pre-qualification status, providing fast track certification for VARs and ISVs that have demonstrated the execution of solid chip solutions.
To learn more about the educational efforts, visit http://www.emv-connection.com/chip-education-...merchants/ .
To begin the pre-qualification process, visit https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/approved_ companies_providers/var_qualifications_program.php .
About FIME
Read FIME's white paper on the EMV migration for the U.S. merchant community: https://www.fime.com/whitepaper/EMVmigration .
FIME is a trusted provider of consulting services, certification and tools. It enables U.S. customers to bring seamless EMV chip card and mobile transactions services to market effectively and confidently using secure contact and contactless EMV, near field communication (NFC), trusted service manager (TSM), trusted execution environment (TEE) and host card emulation (HCE) technologies.
Working with the payment, telecom, transit and identity sectors, FIME supports customers from project initiation to completion by advising on technical requirements, consulting on industry regulations certification authority implementation and streamlining testing and certification activity.
FIME has 12 offices across America (U.S. and Canada), Asia (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan), Europe (France), India and the Middle East (Dubai), offering global expertise and local knowledge through a single point of contact to actively contribute to the advancement and simplification of certification processes.
FIME America's offices are located in San Jose and Montreal.
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Adrian Riley Montner Tech PR 203-226-9290
