European Payments Council launches public consultation on mobile contactless payments

The payments organisation is calling on the industry to provide feedback on its suggested NFC interoperability guidelines by 17 June.

European Payments Council
EPC CONSULTATION: Feedback on guidelines wanted by 17 June

The European Payments Council (EPC) has released the final draft of its Mobile Contactless SEPA Card Payments Interoperability Implementation Guidelines for public consultation and the payments organisation is calling on the industry to provide feedback by 17 June 2011.

The new guidelines provide a description of the mobile contactless payments ecosystem today and the stakeholders involved, with the aim of providing a clear understanding of the technology available and its deployment within the market.

“The EPC is committed to advancing a sustainable mobile contactless payments ecosystem through the delivery of implementation guidelines that promote an interoperable and flexible architecture,” the organisation explains. “This enhanced level of clarity offered by the document will ensure adherence to an adequate level of security measures and appropriate governance by payment service providers.”

The EPC hopes the document will “enable the quick development and implementation of mobile solutions” by:

  • Promoting the use of open standards, which will avoid market fragmentation and the deployment of proprietary solutions with limited geographical reach.
  • Providing transparency to market participants by clarifying the roles of key stakeholders.
  • Stating the position and responsibilities of the EPC in relation to other industry bodies.
  • Defining the adequate level of security for the whole mobile contactless payment value chain in order to establish confidence in this environment.

Readers can download the 117-page document from the EPC’s website. Following the consultation period, the final version of the guidelines is expected to be published in October 2011.

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