Acceptance: US Commerce Adopting EPAS protocols
- At New York’s Big Retail Show, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and its standardisation-dedicated arm the Association for Retail Technology Standards (ARTS) have announced the first universal retailer payment protocol for card acceptance. A common version should result from a partnership between European EPAS.org and ARTS.
- The aim is to define “an open interface between a sale system and a payment system in a retail environment” (in-store POS devices). Through distinguishing these two functions, this interface will ease the PCI-DSS compliance process. It will also help prepare US migration to EMV and the integration of emerging payment methods such as m-wallets and online checkout.
- The resulting specifications should be released during the first quarter 2012. This document ensures the replacement of various existing proprietary protocols worldwide.
- EPAS is the EPC-labelled standard for card messages between merchants and acquirers: authorisation and clearing, management of POS devices, integrated systems. The EPAS protocols are defined and managed by a consortium of European vendors, card schemes, merchants, manufacturers, processors and acquirers. They have been validated by both the ISO and the EPC. They are currently experimented in the “OSCar” pilots, started in several countries by Ingenico with Crédit Mutuel-CIC and Barclaycard (see November 2011 Insight).
- The United States and Canada today join in the technological know-how (EMV acquiring, XML) demonstrated by EPAS.org. The latter benefits from the close interest of North American markets in innovative means of payment, including mobile solutions. This convergence foreshadows the development of the worldwide acceptance of an EU-born standard.