RIVERWOODS, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Discover (NYSE: DFS) today announced it is implementing a 2013 EMV mandate for acquirers and direct-connect merchants in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. This industry alignment will streamline certification and deployment efforts and enable a manageable transition for all parties involved, including issuers, merchants and acquirers.
To date, Discover has prioritized its global EMV-deployment efforts towards markets which are mandated or have significant chip-card technology presence already. Discover has deployed D-PAS, the company’s EMV-compliant payment specification, for the past three years and already has over 1 million cards in market among international issuers. Deployment efforts continue in 2012, with close to 100 issuing and acquiring deployments slated across the Diners Club, PULSE and Discover card networks.
“Enabling EMV in North America is a significant step in Discover’s approach toward emerging payments, and clearly a necessary one,” said Troy Bernard, Global Head of Chip Payment Technology at Discover. “We believe each payment solution should enable choice and security within its transaction environment, which is why when it comes to EMV, we’re giving stakeholders choice and flexibility on how they implement it.”
Discover’s approach to EMV is both universal and choice-centric, meaning the company will not restrict any channel, verification process or transaction type. Discover will support:
- All card authentication channels – including online and offline
- All cardholder verification methods – including both chip & PIN or chip & Signature transactions
- All commerce channels – including contact and contactless (which includes mobile)
Discover’s EMV deployment efforts are already underway domestically. In January 2012, Discover processed its first U.S. EMV card transactions at enabled Walmart locations. Walmart is certified to process D-PAS in both the U.S. and Canada.
To learn more about D-PAS or the Discover 2012 EMV mandate, please visit www.discovernetworknews.com.
About Discover
Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is a direct banking and payment services company with one of the most recognized brands in U.S. financial services. Since its inception in 1986, the company has become one of the largest card issuers in the United States. The company operates the Discover card, America's cash rewards pioneer, and offers personal and student loans, online savings accounts, certificates of deposit and money market accounts through its Discover Bank subsidiary. Its payment businesses consist of Discover Network, with millions of merchant and cash access locations; PULSE, one of the nation's leading ATM/debit networks; and Diners Club International, a global payments network with acceptance in more than 185 countries and territories. For more information, visit www.discoverfinancial.com.