The EMV specifications technology body EMVCo has revised its contactless payment terminal requirements to ensure a consistent payment experience for cards, smartphones and wearables.
EMVCo is adding IQ demodulation requirements to the terminals, essentially boosting a terminal's ability to decipher dynamic data and provide more flexibility in where a device can be positioned near a contactless reader.
“EMVCo has been working with the card and device manufacturers, and technology providers, to ensure terminal requirements support advancements in payment technology," Junya Tanaka, EMVCo's executive committee chair, said in a press release Wednesday. "With more intelligent payment devices being used to pay for goods and services, it is vital that terminals can respond and accept payments to avoid future interoperability issues and transaction failures.”
Modulation in payments is the process of transmitting transaction data through a carrier signal between a payment device and the acceptance terminal. EMV-compliant terminals generate a communication field on which the payment device responds. Many devices now share data in a more dynamic format, bringing IQ demodulation to the forefront to improve that process.
“We expect that well-defined IQ demodulation on EMV contactless readers will improve interoperability with the latest contactless card designs and innovative passive payment device form factors, enabling smaller and more robust antenna designs,” Björn Scharfen, head of the payment and ticketing solutions product line at Infineon Technologies, said in the release.
All EMV-compliant terminals will be required to apply IQ demodulation techniques to receive EMVCo certification. Many terminals have this functionality today, but have neither activated nor tested it within the payment environment, according to EMVCo.
