Europay

Europay International N.V., commonly referred to as Europay, was a European interbank association formed by a group of banks to promote and standardize card-based payments across Europe. Its primary contribution was in the development of the EMV standard for smart card payments, a chip-based method that provides improved security through card authentication, dynamic data, and offline verification. The EMV acronym stands for EuroPay, MasterCard, and Visa, the three networks that collaboratively created the standard with Europay.

EMVCo, the organization that manages and evolves the EMV specifications, was established to coordinate updates and compliance testing across the participating networks, including EuroPay's successors. Europay's European operations were eventually integrated into the footprint of Mastercard's European business, and Europay ceased to operate as an independent entity. The EMV standard achieved widespread adoption in Europe and later worldwide, shaping how debit and credit cards are issued, accepted, and verified.

Today, EMV standards and the chip-and-PIN and related technologies remain central to secure electronic payments, with EMVCo continuing to administer the specifications and test processes across the card brands and payment terminals.