EMV

EMV is a global standard for authenticating card-present payment transactions using chip-enabled payment cards and compatible readers. The name originally stood for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa, the three organizations that initially developed the specification. EMV defines how payment cards interact with point-of-sale terminals, how data is stored on the chip, and how transactions are securely authenticated to reduce card fraud.

EMV specifications are maintained by EMVCo, a consortium of major card networks and payment brands. The standards cover both contact cards (insert into a reader) and contactless cards (near-field communication), and they support various cardholder verification methods and transaction modes. A central feature is dynamic data authentication, in which the chip generates a cryptographic signature unique to each transaction, making counterfeit cards harder to reuse.

Processing often involves offline and online authorization. The card’s cryptogram, such as an ARQC, is produced by the chip and verified by the issuer, while offline PIN or online PIN verification may be required. EMV also enables offline data authentication and, in some configurations, consumer verification by PIN or biometrics.

Impact and adoption: EMV has been widely adopted across most regions, and many markets implemented a liability shift to encourage merchants to upgrade terminals. The migration to EMV has substantially reduced card-present fraud in many countries, though it does not directly address card-not-present fraud in e-commerce and other channels. Costs of upgrading equipment and managing interoperability are common considerations for issuers and merchants.

Variants and related concepts: EMV supports both traditional chip cards and contactless forms (tap-and-go), as well as mobile wallets that emulate EMV credentials. EMV is distinct from magnetic stripe technology, but many cards retain backward compatibility through fallback and mag-stripe data.