For a transaction to be made from a POS device with a card issued under a payment scheme (MasterCard, Visa, etc.), the POS device must complete the required certifications under that payment scheme.
First, the acquiring bank for the POS must clarify a few points before entering the required certifications.
- Which payment schemes' cards will be supported for transactions made through the POS device?
- Will only contact transactions be supported?
- Will only contactless transactions be supported?
- Will both contact and contactless transactions be supported?
The certifications the acquiring bank will need to undertake will vary depending on the decision made.
For a POS to support transactions made with MasterCard, Visa, and Troy cards, the following certifications must be completed successfully.
- MasterCard MTIP (Contact + Contactless)
- Visa ADVT (for contact transactions)
- Visa VpTT (for contactless transactions)
- TROY End-to-End (E2E) (Contact + Contactless)
- BKM Off-site + On-site
Certification steps
The general flow is as follows: first the scope is defined, then test scenarios and test cards are obtained from the scheme operator. The terminal software is tested against these scenarios, and the results are submitted to the scheme or an authorized laboratory.
Once any deficiencies have been resolved, an approval letter is obtained and the device goes live. When the software version changes, recertification or partial testing may be required.
The process is separate for contact and contactless transactions, so the project plan should be drawn up accordingly from the start.
