In a bid to make the transaction simple and convenient, both Visa and MasterCard have made certain proprietary EMV chip technologies available to each other and other networks.
This process will allow a debit chip transaction originating from a single chip application to be routed by the merchant to Visa, MasterCard or any other US PIN debit network that choose to participate in these same services.
Commenting on the cooperation, MasterCard North America president Chris McWilton said, "This represents our continued commitment to advance the adoption of the most advanced payment solutions and security standards in order to deliver maximum value to merchants, consumers and issuers."
The two companies have also agreed to further expedite the US market to a more secure chip-enabled marketplace, by opening their investments and technologies to the industry.
Visa solutions global executive Elizabeth Buse said that the approach offers issuers, acquirers and merchants a streamlined solution for debit chip card routing, helps ensure a cost-effective migration, and enables broader adoption of safe, easy chip debit programs in the US.
"Importantly, this solution allows merchants and acquirers to deploy payment terminals using existing chip technologies that are already widely integrated into existing chip card acceptance solutions," Buse added.
Besides decreasing complexities of the US EMV implementation, the agreement will enable issuers to load their global brand’s application onto their Visa or MasterCard cards and facilitate transactions to route over any participating PIN debit network in the country.
