MasterCard, First Data Partner on EMV

First Data and MasterCard today announced a partnership in which First Data’s STAR payments network will participate in MasterCard’s common U.S. Debit EMV solution.

The agreement will accelerate the ability for EMV functionality to be implemented across the U.S., the companies said.

“This agreement, and other EMV agreements we have recently announced, helps accelerate the migration to EMV adoption, and moves the entire industry a step closer to additional debit payment security,” said Barry McCarthy, president, First Data Financial Services, in a statement.

EMV, the global technology 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, in contrast to the magnetic strip cards now used mostly in the U.S.

[Related: Retail EMV Adoption: Eyes Wide Open]

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