New EMV Resources Are Available To RSPA Members

By Ally Kutz, contributing writer

The Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) announced new resources for VARs providing EMV solutions to their clients: an EMV solutions grid and the Merchant FAQ tool.

The Grid

EMV-certified solutions are now listed on a central grid, thanks to the Retail Solutions Providers Association (RSPA) and its EMV Committee. The grid, first proposed at INSPRIE 2015, can be accessed here.

The grid lists solutions from left to right, and provides information on capabilities or features of the solution. It lists models of payment terminals, the PCI PTS version, contactless capabilities, kernel versions and kernel expiration date. It also provides information on card brands, POS terminal vendors, middleware, processors/gateways, date of availability and vertical markets.

The grid helps you easily see which solutions have what you are looking for and to compare one solution to another. The first page lists integrated and semi-integrated solutions. A second page lists standalone products; information on the grid states, “Standalone products are turnkey EMV and contactless enabled payment solutions that are designed to operate 100-percent independently of the POS [point of sale] hardware and software. While not optimal from an ease of use perspective, benefits of this solution include time to market and the ability to work in conjunction with practically any POS system.” The last page of the grid lists EMV/Contactless Professional Services, which RSPA explains, “provide expert development, testing tools, certification tools, application building blocks and/or consulting services associated with creating end-end certified EMV solutions. While there are many excellent turnkey solutions available, often outside expertise is needed to complete an integration and certification.”

The grid is set to be updated monthly in order to allow RSPA members to stay continuously informed on solutions that can be offered to their customers.

Companies that want to submit integrated or standalone products or professional services, can fill in the appropriate grid and submit to RSPA and RSPA EMV Committee representatives Ashley Naggy (ANaggy@gorspa.org), Amber Murdock (AMurdock@gorspa.org) and Beatta McInerney (beatta.mcinerney@scansource.com).

The Merchant FAQ Tool

Another resource now available can help you answer questions from merchants on EMV. The Merchant FAQ tool can be found here, and it has been shared with RSPA by the EMV Migration Forum and Payments Security Taskforce.

The Merchant FAQ sheet includes general questions, such as, “What is a chip card?” and “What is EMV?” to more specific questions, such as, “How do I get a chip-enabled terminal for my store?”

VARs can also visit GoChipCard.com for additional information.