If you use a chip-enabled card for payments, chances are you’re using technology that has been made safe and convenient by industry-wide collaboration. They’re behind the specifications and evaluations that have enabled secure and convenient payment processes for an estimated 12 billion users.
We work closely with the finance industry to monitor and assess technological innovations in payment processing, sharing a continuous, proactive approach to knowledge and collaboration across the industry. Solutions devised by international payment networks have a critical role to play in enabling this joined-up approach. Their specifications for secure payments are available to all – benefitting consumers, businesses and institutions alike, and enabling secure, interoperable payments globally.
New technology, new challenges
Technologies such as mobile and online payment and quantum computing push the boundaries of conventional security approaches and payment convenience. COVID-19 has led to a huge increase in mobile payments. A contactless card utilizes just one channel of commerce – mobile payments have multiple channels that have to be protected. Specifications and requirements need to be constantly adjusted and aligned to ensure interoperability between the different payment networks. Moreover, new products can lead to new methods of attack that need to be countered in the specifications. The Internet of Things will create many new connected devices with new ways to pay. These significant opportunities need robust security evaluation processes.
Inconsistencies and fragmentation across channels and regions create weaknesses undermining the delivery of a safe and secure consumer experience. There’s no silver bullet for these issues. That’s why collaboration is so important, and why we work with industry bodies to develop and shape the future of specifications and standards across all channels and connected devices.
Specifications must address the convergence of technologies, with a vast new ecosystem of connected objects increasingly enabled with a payment function. Testing and evaluation needs to be a collaborative effort to ensure a consistent and trusted payment experience. Devices need to be tested quickly and efficiently to get them to market, with innovation and security working together.
Thinking ahead for seamless security
If you just add security to existing products, it won’t be strong enough. It’s like a cake: you need all the ingredients at the right time and you can’t add the eggs after putting the cake in the oven. There has to be good collaboration with all the parties concerned – labs, industry bodies, and product providers – so that we can build the best payment ecosystems for everyone concerned.
It's critical to ensure security and compatibility for a seamless payment processing experience for everyone, whether it’s for a Zoom meeting, for an online merchant, or in a bricks and mortar store. Working closely with collaborators, we can streamline the complexities of card-based payments and make them globally familiar and secure.
Product evaluation and certification at SGS Brightsight
Would you like to make sure that your products meet the latest security regulations and requirements – while still getting them to market in time? SGS Brightsight, the largest independent security evaluation lab in the world, is here to support you every step of the way. With over 35 years experience in evaluating IT products in different industries and an extensive list of accreditations, SGS Brightsight has a short evaluation and certification timeline to get your products to market in time.