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The ECPC issued its first Certificates to CPACE Card and Terminal Kernel Applications

The European Card Payment Cooperation (ECPC), home of the CPACE specifications, is proud to announce the successful issuance of its first certificates to:

These certificates prove the interoperability of these products and their compliance with the independent CPACE specifications.

The ECPC was founded in Brussels on April 29th, 2020, under the Belgian Law for cooperative companies, and was conceived as a standardisation organisation, with the main objective to create the „CPACE ecosystem“ in the payments industry. For this purpose, the ECPC is consolidating the unique capabilities of the different European schemes supporting CPACE and promoting it as an innovative solution which is independent from alternative solutions available in the market. The ECPC is therefore expected to be a key player in the harmonization of the European payment system in general, and of the single market for card payments in Europe in particular.

Among other achievements, the ECPC has developed and implemented a complete functional certification framework for Chip Cards and Terminal Kernels based on the CPACE specifications. The certification framework started with PayCert as Certification Body as well as Elitt and FIME as test tool providers and test laboratories. These three organisations, together with the ECPC team, joined forces to organize the first testing and certification processes with SELP (based on NXP´s JCOP solution), PAX and Verifone, which has now resulted in the first ECPC certificates issued related to the CPACE specifications.

The ECPC is currently running several certification campaigns with other chip card and terminal kernel providers and, therefore, additional CPACE certificates are expected soon.

Matthias Hönisch, Chairman of the ECPC Board, has commented: „I am very pleased with the issuance of the first CPACE certificates to SELP (based on NXPçs JCOP solution), PAX and Verifone because it signals the starting point of a market reality that has the potential to change the landscape of the European card payments“.

SELP is a security printer specialized in smart cards. The company produces prepaid, banking, and ID cards for more than 60 countries in the world. Every year, more than 400M smart cards are produced in SELP´s manufacturing units (3 in France and 1 in India).

Hubert Coyne, Head of SELP Banking & Transport BU: “We are proud to be the first card manufacturer to be granted the ECPC certification. We would like to thank our partner, NXP, and the ECPC team for their contributions. We believe in the potential of the CPACE Specifications and feel enthusiastic about this new era for the European payment system.”

PAX Technology is an established leader in Point-of-Sale innovation, complementing its reliable terminal hardware portfolio in recent years by allowing Acquiring Banks and Payment Service Providers to administer their own private marketplaces on PAXSTORE, a state-of-the art SaaS platform which helps improve the operational efficiency of merchant networks and the delivery of modern application software services.

Jack Lu, Chief Executive Officer of PAX, said: “We’re delighted to see our product A920 integrating the CPACE kernel so that we can deploy our product in many European countries, regardless of the domestic payment application. We’re proud to be a part of the effort to bring a seamless payment experience to European users.”

Verifone is a FinTech leader providing valuable end-to-end payment and commerce solutions to the world’s best-known retail brands, major financial institutions, and directly to more than 600,000 merchants alike. The company’s global services platform is built on a four-decade history of innovation and uncompromised security.

“We’re proud to be one of the first payment solutions with a CPACE kernel,” said Verifone Vice President of EMV, Security and Certification Ron Fridman. “CPACE certifications open more opportunities for us and for our customers in Europe, and furthers Verifone’s mission to simplify payments acceptance throughout the region.”