EMVCo Becomes an Accredited ISO/IEC Certification Body

EMVCo, the global technical body for the payment community, has received ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation for its security evaluation processes. Its new status as an accredited certification body recognises the value and quality of EMVCo security product evaluations in enabling the deployment of safe and secure payment solutions.

EMVCo Security Evaluations provide a common methodology to assess whether chip and software-based vand solutions meet EMV® Specifications, requirements and guidelines for security*. Where applicable, this includes mechanisms and protections to reach a ‘High’ level of resistance as defined in JIL Application of Attack Potential to Smart Cards (JIL AP) to withstand known attacks.

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical Commission) have defined in ISO/IEC 17065 a set of requirements for certification bodies to demonstrate that they deliver evaluation processes in a competent, consistent and impartial manner. This accreditation independently acknowledges that EMVCo’s security certification scheme meets these stringent requirements and facilitates the recognition of EMVCo and EMVCo-evaluated products on a national and international basis.

“As we move to an increasingly digitalised world, cross-industry efforts must focus on bolstering cybersecurity and ensuring products and services coming to market are fit for purpose,” explains Aaron Armstrong, EMVCo Executive Committee Chair. “For almost 20 years, EMVCo’s robust security evaluation processes have been integral in promoting trust and enabling more secure payment experiences. We felt it was vital to independently showcase the depth, quality and impartiality of this testing framework, and demonstrate our proven ability to address payment cybersecurity concerns in support of regulatory initiatives across the world.”

EMVCo was established in 1999 and collaborates with industry stakeholders to develop technical specifications and programmes that any party can use to design payment products that will work seamlessly and securely worldwide. Its mission is to facilitate the worldwide interoperability of secure payment transactions by developing and publishing the EMV Specifications and their related testing processes.