Stephanie Ericksen, vice president of product and technology integration at Visa International said: Visa introduced the global contactless specification last year, and we have been working to make sure the test tools and facilities, documentation, and an easy-to-use applet are available for members and vendors to bring new contactless programs to market quickly and efficiently.
The global contactless specification was launched in November 2005, to provide seamless interoperability across markets simultaneously providing choice and flexibility for issuers to customize contactless programs for their markets, as well as exclusive features such as additional security measures and enhanced performance for faster, safer transaction processing.
The international payment provider has been continually working with vendors and issuers to ensure they have the necessary tools to implement programs since the release of the global contactless specification. The most recent addition being the applet which contains the Visa payment application, enabling vendors to use any GlobalPlatform card with the global contactless specification efficiently and without additional costly development.
A new card product has now been approved and made available to issuers, instigating a more competitive option for issuers.
In addition, Visa members also have access to documentation, such as implementation and technical guides, personalization tools, and development roadmaps, to help support new contactless programs.
Europe is expected to launch programs based on the global contactless specification in the near future.
