Mastercard has announced an initiative to create greater payment consistency by making EMV chip and contactless payments the global standard in the next five years.
Beginning later this year, Mastercard will require a series of card and terminal upgrades across Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Africa and the Middle East to bring EMV contactless card payment technology to more people in more locations around the world.
Mastercard says millions of consumers are already able to pay with a simple tap in over 8 million locations across 111 countries. Contactless transactions across Asia Pacific increased more than 35% in 2017, with the volume spent rising over 40%.
Mastercard says demand for contactless payments is strong and growing, with 15 % of all in-store purchases globally using the technology. Capitalizing on the opportunity to accelerate adoption, Mastercard has established a roadmap that sets out the following requirements:
- After October 2018, all new acceptance terminals in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific will have EMV chip and contactless enabled
- After April 2019, all new cards issued in in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Asia Pacific will have EMV chip and contactless technology
- By April 2023, all merchant terminals in in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America will be EMV chip and contactless enabled.
The changes underway ensure that consumers, merchants and governments around the world will be able to take advantage of next-generation digital technology which deliver greater security and convenience, the company said. The speed of contactless payments, coupled with dynamic EMV grade authentication protecting against fraud, is transforming everyday commerce and helping issuers by increasing card usage and displacing cash. Contactless payments also power use cases for city governments like public transportation.
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