What EMVCo does

EMVCo is a global technical body, organized as EMVCo, LLC in Delaware, that creates, maintains, and enhances the EMV Specifications governing chip-based card payments and acceptance devices worldwide. Founded in 1999 and collectively owned by six major payment networks (American Express, Discover, JCB, Mastercard, UnionPay, and Visa), EMVCo develops the technical requirements that enable card-based payment products to interoperate across in-store, e-commerce, and remote payment environments. Its core technology suite includes EMV Contact Chip, EMV Contactless Chip, EMV Mobile, EMV 3-D Secure (3DS), EMV Payment Tokenisation, EMV QR Codes, EMV Secure Remote Commerce (SRC), EMV Electric Vehicle Open Payments (EVOP), EMV Level 3 Testing, and the emerging EMV Digital Payment Credential (DPC) specification for online authentication, all built around public specification documents, recognized laboratory testing, and qualified test tool frameworks.

The organization serves five horizontal customer segments: banks and financial institutions, merchants, technology providers and manufacturers, payment networks, and independent testing laboratories, with engagement formalized through its Associates and Subscribers Programme. Its business model is membership-based and royalty-free: specifications are published publicly on the EMVCo website at no charge, while funding flows from the six owner payment networks and from participation fees tied to the Associates/Subscribers programmes, laboratory recognition processes, and product approval or evaluation services. EMVCo is ISO/IEC 17065 accredited for its security evaluation processes, and it works with a global network of recognized laboratories and qualified test tools to validate product compliance. Recent strategic activity has been oriented toward extending the specification footprint into EV charging payments, digital identity credentials, biometric card sensors, and standards supporting AI-agent-initiated transactions.

Name

EMVCo

Legal name

EMVCo, LLC

Website

https://emvco.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

EMVCo is a global technical consortium, collectively owned by six major payment networks, that develops and maintains the royalty-free EMV Specifications enabling interoperable, secure card-based payments across in-store, e-commerce, and remote channels worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Standards and Specifications

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

POS Certification, Testing & Compliance (EMVCo, PCI PTS/PCI DSS) (FSAMADAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

EMV Chip, Magstripe & PIN Debit Acceptance (FSAMADAG), Integrated POS Payments (ISVs & Vertical POS Platforms) (FSAMADAD), Risk, Compliance & Controls for Embedded Finance (KYB/KYC/AML, Fraud, Disputes) (FSAGALAK)

Keywords

• Payment specifications
• Card-based payments
• Payment security standards
• Payment interoperability
• EMV specifications

Headquarters

HQ city

Foster City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

EMVCo creates, manages, and enhances the EMV® integrated circuit card specifications and related programmes that enable seamless and secure card-based payments worldwide. Its core offering is a portfolio of royalty-free technical specifications spanning 3-D Secure, contact and contactless chip, mobile, payment tokenisation, QR codes, secure remote commerce, electric vehicle open payments, and level 3 testing, supported by laboratory recognition, product approval, and security evaluation services.

Product overview

EMVCo is a global technical body that creates and manages EMV® Specifications and programmes enabling seamless and secure card-based payments worldwide. The company offers a comprehensive suite of EMV® Technologies including EMV® 3-D Secure for online payment authentication, EMV® Contact Chip and Contactless Chip for in-store payments, EMV® Mobile for smartphone/wearable payments, EMV® Payment Tokenisation for securing digital transactions, EMV® QR Codes for QR-based payments, EMV® Secure Remote Commerce for e-commerce checkout simplification, EMV® Electric Vehicle Open Payments for EV charging, and EMV® Level 3 Testing for terminal integration validation. These products work together to provide end-to-end payment security and interoperability across in-store, online, and remote payment environments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• EMV® 3-D Secure EMV 3-D Secure enables seamless authentication of consumers to prevent card-not-present (CNP) fraud and increase the security of e-commerce payments by exchanging messages between merchant and issuer. It is for banks, merchants, payment networks, and technology providers implementing secure e-commerce authentication.
• EMV® Contact Chip EMV Contact Chip supports seamless and secure in-store payments and helps prevent card fraud through chip-based authentication technology. It is for banks, card manufacturers, and merchants issuing or accepting chip-based payment cards.
• EMV® Contactless Chip EMV Contactless Chip supports seamless and secure transactions made with contactless chip cards and NFC-enabled mobile devices through near field communication technology. It is for banks, card manufacturers, terminal vendors, and merchants enabling tap-to-pay experiences.
• EMV® Mobile EMV Mobile supports the growing use of mobile devices for secure and convenient payments, enabling smartphones and wearables to perform EMV contactless transactions. It is for device manufacturers, mobile wallet providers, banks, and payment networks enabling mobile payments.
• EMV® Payment Tokenisation EMV Payment Tokenisation replaces valuable card data with payment tokens to increase the security of mobile and e-commerce transactions. It is for token service providers, banks, merchants, digital wallets, and payment networks securing card-not-present transactions.
• EMV® QR Codes EMV QR Codes support consistent, efficient, and convenient QR code payments for merchants and consumers. It is for merchants, acquirers, payment networks, and wallet providers enabling interoperable QR-based payments.
• EMV® Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) EMV Secure Remote Commerce simplifies e-commerce checkout to make the payment process quicker, easier, and more secure by providing a standardized digital payment framework. It is for merchants, payment networks, digital wallets, and developers implementing streamlined e-commerce checkout experiences.
• EMV® Electric Vehicle Open Payments (EVOP) EMV Electric Vehicle Open Payments enables seamless card-based payment at EV charging stations, supporting the ISO 15118 Plug & Charge standard for secure and interoperable charging payments. It is for EV charging network operators, charge point manufacturers, and payment networks enabling open-loop EV charging payments.
• EMV® Level 3 Testing EMV Level 3 Testing validates the integration of EMV acceptance devices with acceptance infrastructure to ensure end-to-end EMV transaction interoperability. It is for terminal vendors, acquirers, payment processors, and testing laboratories certifying acceptance solutions.
• EMV® Digital Payment Credential (DPC) Specification EMV Digital Payment Credential (DPC) defines a payment card-specific application of Verifiable Digital Credentials (VDCs) for secure, privacy-preserving, and scalable authentication in online card-based payment scenarios. It is for banks, merchants, payment networks, and technology providers implementing modern digital identity-based payment authentication.
• EMVCo Laboratory Recognition and Product Approval Services EMVCo-recognized laboratory and product approval services enable independent testing laboratories to evaluate and certify payment products (cards, mobile form factors, acceptance devices, 3DS solutions) for compliance with EMV Specifications. It is for testing laboratories, manufacturers of payment products, and merchants/acquirers seeking certified solutions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Billions of card-based payments made and accepted daily using EMV Specifications worldwide
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• FIDO Alliance: FIDO Alliance develops authentication standards (FIDO2, WebAuthn) increasingly referenced in EMVCo's 3DS specifications and in the Digital Payment Credential initiative. It is an emerging standards body intersecting with EMVCo's authentication scope for card-based payments.
• OSPT Alliance: OSPT Alliance promotes open, vendor-neutral standards for transit and secure transactions, with specifications that overlap with EMVCo's contactless and tokenisation work in transit and emerging payment use cases.
• Open Identity Exchange (OIX): OIX develops guidance and trust frameworks for digital identity and verifiable credentials — an area of growing overlap with EMVCo's Digital Payment Credential and agentic payments initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• W3C (World Wide Web Consortium): W3C develops the WebAuthn and Secure Payment Confirmation standards that EMVCo 3DS now builds on. As a broad incumbent web standards body, it defines foundational authentication specifications EMVCo extends into payments.
• Mastercard: As one of EMVCo's six owner networks, Mastercard both consumes EMVCo's specifications and shapes their direction. It is a broad incumbent in card payments and a strategic owner-participant in EMVCo's standards work.
• Visa: Visa is one of EMVCo's six owner networks, contributing to and aligning with EMV specifications globally. It is a broad incumbent in card-based payments that benefits from and co-governs EMVCo's standards portfolio.
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO): ISO owns the ISO 14443, ISO 15118, and ISO/IEC 17065 standards that EMVCo's chip, EV charging, and accreditation work respectively reference or align to. It is a broad incumbent standards organization whose work underpins EMVCo's specifications.
• GSMA: GSMA sets standards for the global mobile industry, including mobile connectivity and identity frameworks that intersect with EMVCo's Mobile and Payment Tokenisation specifications for smartphone-based payments.

Direct peers

• NFC Forum: The NFC Forum develops the underlying near-field communication specifications that EMVCo's Contactless Chip standard is built upon. The two organizations co-shape the technical foundation for contactless card payments globally.
• PCI Security Standards Council: The PCI Security Standards Council manages PCI DSS, PCI PTS, and other payment security standards, and is referenced in the same EMVCo POS certification taxonomy. It plays a directly parallel role to EMVCo in setting compliance and security standards for card-based payment infrastructure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/emvco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCQPCa9UJuF5wGslZymPq1sQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/emvco

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EMVCo