Oberthur answering card issuers' demands for EMV in the US

CHANTILLY, USA: Oberthur Technologies, the world's second largest provider of smart card based solutions to financial institutions and government agencies in the US, has seen an increase in EMV demand from card issuers in the United States over the last several months - a result of increased demand from disgruntled US travelers.

Multiple launches from leading financial institutions are currently underway, for early 2011 deployment. "The increased difficulty for US travelers is evident,” said Martin Ferenczi, MD of the Americas Region for the Card Systems Division at Oberthur Technologies.

"More merchants in EMV countries are declining non-EMV cards for fear that they’ll be liable if any fraud occurs, so US travelers are often unable to use their non-EMV payment cards for a variety of products and services – creating unhappy customers at restaurants, railways stations and other establishments frequented by both business and vacation travelers.”

An October survey of North American financial institutions, conducted by ACI Worldwide, indicated that 57 percent of respondents admitted to having customer service issues with cardholders experiencing difficulties overseas.

Oberthur Technologies has issued over 600 million EMV cards globally and offers a comprehensive range of EMV payment solutions to meet clients’ needs, including contact, contactless and dual interface payment cards and prepaid cards.

To lessen the technical hurdle associated with an EMV migration, Oberthur Technologies also offers EMV-in-a-Box, a fully integrated EMV migration solution and management program based on best practices gained by Oberthur Technologies’ work on more than 200 EMV projects worldwide.

The EMV-in-a-Box program includes on-site consultation, EMV training, project management and technical support. The migration plan enables EMV cards to be issued within 12 weeks from project initiation.

EMV is a global specification for credit and debit payment cards based on chip card technology. The EMV standard, which offers enhanced security versus traditional magstripe cards, has widespread use and acceptance worldwide, excluding the United States.