Publication Date: February 2020

As contactless payments continue to take hold in the U.S., many merchants and issuers are looking to provide these capabilities to their customers. Contactless emerged in the U.S. before the migration to EMV chip technology and, as a result, two operating modes coexist today: contactless magnetic stripe data (MSD), and contactless EMV. Contactless MSD is being phased out as merchants, acquirers and issuers are now capable of processing full EMV chip data. The U.S. is now in a transitional period with both modes active, creating a complex environment for merchants and issuers to navigate when trying to align to each of the payment network’s rules.

This U.S. Payments Forum white paper provides a resource to help merchants, issuers and acquirers understand the contactless operating mode rules set by each of the payment networks.

The white paper provides:

An overview of contactless EMV and contactless MSD technologies

Tables with a summary of each payment network’s current contactless requirements for issuing contactless cards and devices and accepting contactless payments

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