Mercator report examines global status of EMV

When Europay International introduced the 1993 initiative to migrate to chip-embedded credit and debit cards in an effort to reduce fraud, it couldn't have foreseen nearly two decades later the technology would still be relatively unknown in certain parts of the world. The Europay/MasterCard/Visa (EMV) international standard for chip and PIN technologies created in 1999 has helped drive the initiative, but in the United States migration to EMV is just beginning.

Mercator Advisory Group's latest report, The State of EMV Adoption: A Global Update, explores global markets with the greatest potential for EMV growth and the catalysts most likely to drive demand for EMV in the future. According to the report, the most progressive nations achieved universal EMV compliance starting as early as 2007, while other countries have only partially embraced the initiative, failing to upgrade all cards and terminals operating in the field.

Highlights from the 31-page report include:

• Contact and contactless EMV market overviews by geographic region
• Country-specific profiles for key EMV markets in the Asia-Pacific, Europe and Latin America
• Analysis of global growth trends in EMV cards, POS terminals and ATMs
• Projected timeline for EMV migration at the POS in the United States

Michael Misasi, Mercator Research Analyst and author of the report, said China is the latest major market to commit to a national EMV migration initiative, which has the support of the Chinese government. He believes China's initiative will likely ensure a significant increase in global demand for EMV cards and terminals.

"Visa's U.S. liability shift may have a similar impact in the world's other EMV holdout, but given the country's strong mag-stripe preference, it remains to be seen how swiftly merchants and issuers will respond without a government mandate or a comparable stance from MasterCard," Misasi said.

For more information about this and other reports from Mercator Advisory Group, visit www.mercatoradvisorygroup.com .

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