The burgeoning world of contactless payments has seen an innovative development with the introduction of a dedicated testing and approval process by EMVCo. This initiative is specifically geared towards the TapToMobile system, known to some as softPOS, Tap on Phone, or Tap to Pay. The system empowers merchants to accept contactless payments through NFC-enabled consumer and enterprise devices without requiring any additional hardware. This represents a significant shift from traditional payment terminals, which have considerably higher NFC read ranges compared to the consumer and enterprise devices typically used for TapToMobile, and may affect user experience.
To address these potential user experience challenges, EMVCo has established minimum acceptance criteria accompanied by a “reduced range” approval process. This method is aimed at assessing and improving the performance of these NFC-enabled devices for contactless payments. Traditional payment terminals are known for their high NFC read ranges, but consumer devices often fall short in this area. By developing a structured testing protocol, EMVCo seeks to ensure that the performance of these consumer devices more closely resembles that of traditional payment terminals, thus facilitating a more seamless user experience.
The new testing protocol developed by EMVCo goes beyond mere evaluation; it is designed to provide data-driven feedback to help improve NFC read ranges progressively. This effort is expected to realign the performance of TapToMobile devices with the established standards of traditional terminals. By continually gathering data and adapting the acceptance criteria accordingly, EMVCo plans to drive enhancements in the TapToMobile landscape. The data will serve as a foundation for refining the performance capabilities of these devices, ultimately resulting in a better contactless payment experience for both merchants and consumers.
In summary, EMVCo’s newly introduced “reduced range” approval process aims to mitigate the existing performance limitations of consumer and enterprise devices used for contactless payments. Its overarching goal is to promote a user-friendly experience and drive continuous improvements in device performance over time. By aligning TapToMobile performance more closely with traditional payment terminals, EMVCo envisions a future where contactless payments are more efficient and reliable, paving the way for widespread adoption and enhanced user satisfaction.
