Table of Contents
Overview
Visa and Mastercard have introduced a mandate around contactless Magstripe (MSD) transactions. This article goes into the details of this mandate and how this affects integrators and merchants using NMI's Gateway.
Mandate
Visa MSD Contactless Rules
- Effective April 13, 2019, if qVSDC (EMV Contactless) is deployed on or after April 13, 2019, the terminal must not support the MSD transaction path.
- Effective October 19, 2019, contactless acceptance devices must not support the MSD transaction path.
Mastercard MSD Contactless Rules
- Prior to 18 October 2019, a newly deployed contactless-enabled Terminal may support Magnetic Stripe Mode contactless payment functionality.
- Effective 18 October 2019, a newly-deployed POS Terminal that supports contactless acceptance must support only EMV mode contactless. Magstripe mode contactless must not be supported.
How Does This Affect Me
ChipDNA Windows & Linux
As of October 18th 2019, all U.S. and Canadian payment devices accepting contactless payments must accept EMV contactless payments. The legacy magnetic stripe data (MSD) contactless will be retired as per card scheme mandates. This requirement only applies to U.S. and Canadian terminals with contactless capabilities.
Magstripe contactless will not be disabled automatically on the NMI gateway. If the relevant EMV contactless certification isn't available in time for the mandate and the merchant wants to continue taking magstripe contactless, please reach out to the relevant processor to request a waiver be put in place. If a waiver isn't in place, the merchant should instruct NMI to disable magstripe contactless capabilities until the certification is available. If the merchant continues processing magstripe contactless after the mandate without a waiver, the liability will be shifted on the merchant.
NMI will send a mailer as notification when an EMV certification is ready for deployment. This mailer will include the next steps for disabling magstripe contactless and enabling EMV contactless.
Once EMV contactless support has been added, Google Pay/Apple Pay will continue to be accepted however they’ll be processed as EMV contactless transactions instead of legacy magstripe contactless.
No integration changes are necessary apart from ensuring the latest build of ChipDNA/firmware is deployed as documented below. NMI is currently prioritizing and rushing through EMV contactless certifications against all major terminals and processors. If you have any queries regarding certification timelines please reach out to your account manager who can provide you with up-to-date information.
Current priority EMV contactless certifications are indicated below and should be reviewed to ensure the minimum software and firmware versions are deployed to be in compliance. Please note, First Data Nashville does not support EMV, therefore, any merchants on First Data Nashville that want contactless support will need to change processor to one of the below:
| Processor | Device | ChipDNA Version * | Firmware Version ** | Date ** |
| First Data Rapid Connect | Ingenico iPP3x0 | ChipDNA 2.13 | RBA 23 | October 2019 |
| First Data Rapid Connect | Ingenico iSelf with iUC150b *** | ChipDNA 2.13 | RBA 23 | Q1 2020 |
| Elavon ViaConex | Ingenico iPP3x0 | ChipDNA 2.13 | RBA 23 | Q1 2020 |
* ChipDNA 2.13 is expected for release at the end of October 2019. Subject to change until certification has been reviewed and received final sign-off from the processor.
** Subject to change until certification has been reviewed and received final sign-off from the processor.
*** The Ingenico iSelf certification is being carried out with the revised iUC150b contactless unit. Please ensure your deployments are utilizing this variant of the contactless module prior to certified solution deployment.
ChipDNA Direct / CardEaseXML
As of October 18th 2019, all U.S. and Canadian payment devices accepting contactless payments must accept EMV contactless payments. The legacy magnetic stripe data (MSD) contactless will be retired as per card scheme mandates. This requirement only applies to U.S. and Canadian terminals with contactless capabilities.
On October 18th all payment devices connected to the NMI / Creditcall gateway should cease taking magnetic stripe data contactless transactions. If the relevant EMV contactless certification isn't available in time for the mandate and the merchant wants to continue taking magstripe contactless, please reach out to the relevant processor to request a waiver be put in place. If a waiver isn't in place, the merchant should disable magstripe contactless capabilities until the certification is available. If the merchant continues processing magstripe contactless after the mandate without a waiver, the liability will be shifted on the merchant.
This may require integration changes or changes to the integrating applications terminal management system (TMS). If EMV contactless is required, the relevant certification needs to be in place. Please liaise with your account manager if EMV contactless is required.
Boarding
For merchants who process their own account boardings via WebMIS, Express Boarding, or SOAP, merchant accounts and terminal groups should no longer be set up with the capability to process contactless magstripe transactions.
The following values should no longer be used in the Payment Type field for merchant account and terminal group boardings:
Magnetic Stripe ContactlessMagnetic Stripe With Contactless
The Bank Info section of merchant account boardings should also be completed with the relevant options set so as not to indicate that the merchant account is capable of processing contactless Magstripe transactions.
Please don’t hesitate to contact support@creditcall.com with any queries you may have regarding the changes to the boarding process detailed above.
Terminology
Android / Google Pay
An online payment system developed by Google. Contactless transactions are processed as EMV contactless if supported by the terminal. Otherwise, Google Pay transactions will be processed as Magstripe contactless.
Apple Pay
An online payment system developed by Apple. Contactless transactions are processed as EMV contactless if supported by the terminal. Otherwise, Apple Pay transactions will be processed as Magstripe contactless.
Contactless
Contactless payment systems are credit/debit cards, smartphones/smartwatches or other smart devices that allow secure payments to be made without inserting a card into a terminal.
EMV Contactless
A payment method based upon a technical standard (managed by EMVCo) for the payment card and terminal. EMV contactless allows the card to be read over a small distance from the reader. EMV data is constantly changing making it more secure.
MSD
Magnetic Stripe Data (MSD). Magnetic stripe cards remain static which in turn is less secure.
NFC
Near Field Communication (NFC). This is the technology that allows contactless payments to occur.