EMVCo, the EMV standards body jointly owned by JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa, has announced American Express as its fourth owner-member.
According to EMVCo, the addition of this latest international payment organisation aligns with EMVCo’s intent to attract further industry participation in the development of the EMV specifications.
As an established supporter and end-user of EMV technology, American Express has acquired a one-fourth share of EMVCo from the respective holdings of JCB International, MasterCard Worldwide and Visa, and will therefore have an equal interest in the organisation. EMVCo’s management structure has been changed to give American Express representation on the organisation’s executive committee and board of managers, in addition to equal participation in its working groups.
Tad Fordyce, chairman of the EMVCo executive committee and head of global cross product platforms at Visa, said: American Express will be able to lend expertise at both the technical and management level which will directly support the EMVCo goal to enhance global chip standards and offer secure and interoperable payments at the point of sale around the world.
Susan Hillel, senior vice president of global network operations at American Express, said: We are committed to driving interoperability in payments and know that our participation in EMVCo will facilitate this for our merchant, issuer and cardmember customers. Involvement by the four major payment organisations will drive secure and interoperable payments globally for transactions made with chip cards by aligning and progressing EMV Specifications.
