EMVCo

EMVCo is a standards body that develops and manages specifications for interoperable payment acceptance using EMV technology, including chip-based cards and near-field communication (NFC) mobile payments. It was established in 1999 by Europay, Mastercard, and Visa and is owned by six major payment networks: American Express, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa. The organization operates as a private company with member representation from the payments industry.

EMVCo publishes the EMV specifications, which define how payment cards and devices interact in both card-present and increasingly card-not-present environments. The scope covers core and application specifications for chip cards, contactless payments, and secure tokenization, along with guidance for issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants, and terminal manufacturers to ensure broad interoperability and security. In addition to specification development, EMVCo manages a conformance and interoperability program that provides testing and certification to verify that products meet EMV standards and carry appropriate branding.

The organization also guides updates to standards to reflect evolving payment technologies, including mobile wallets, payment tokenization, and remote commerce. EMVCo collaborates with networks, issuers, acquirers, merchants, processors, and device manufacturers to promote global adoption, reduce fraud, and enable seamless payment experiences across different geographies and channels.

Public documentation and versioned specifications are maintained and published by EMVCo on its website. Through its governance and certification processes, EMVCo aims to provide a globally interoperable framework for secure, efficient payment transactions across card, mobile, and other payment-enabled devices.