Adyen Issues EMV-Enabled Mobile Card Reader

Amsterdam-based payments company Adyen announced it is releasing an EMV-certified mobile POS card reader that accepts both Chip & PIN and mag stripe credit cards. The company claims this is the first mobile card reader that can process EMV-based cards.

EMV, the global standard for credit and debit card payments named after its original developers -- Europay, MasterCard and Visa -- features cards with embedded microprocessor chips that store and protect encrypted account user data. Adyen said it will initially release the device in Europe, where EMV cards dominate the market, but will roll out in the U.S. and other geographies as those EMV markets mature.

That day may be coming in the not-too-distant future. Several American banks, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank and others, have already begun issuing EMV cards to customers who frequently travel internationally

Meanwhile, American Express, MasterCard and Visa have also announced plans to speed the adoption of EMV in the U.S.

Purchase, N.Y.-based MasterCard announced in May the formation of a cross-industry group designed to foster collaboration and alignment among networks, issuers, merchants, acquirers, processors, terminal manufacturers, card manufacturers and other groups in the implementation of EMV technology in the U.S. San Francisco-based Visa announced its EMV road map for the U.S. last August.

[Related Content: Will EMV Prevent ATM Fraud? ]

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio