EMVCo has today published a draft of its EMV® Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) Specification, which is available for download from the EMVCo website and open for a public comment period of 45 days, until Monday 3 December. The global technical body has made the decision to release a draft specification - EMV SRC Specification v0.9 – before finalising the specification to allow as many payment industry participants as possible, including merchants, card issuers and payment networks, the opportunity to review and contribute to v1.0 which will be published in 2019. 

The draft EMV SRC Specification provides a foundation that will enable the processing of e-commerce transactions in a consistent, streamlined fashion across a variety of digital channels and devices, including smartphones, tablets, PCs and other connected devices.

When finalised, it is expected that v1.0 of the EMV SRC Specification will:

·         Define interfaces to allow for secure exchanges of payment data across participants in the digital commerce environment.

·         Accommodate options for using dynamic data, such as cryptograms or other transaction unique data, to enhance the security of payment transactions on a merchant’s SRC enabled website, mobile app or other e-commerce platform. 

·         Enable compatibility with other technologies such as EMV Payment Tokenisation and EMV 3-D Secure.

·         Facilitate consumer recognition of a common user experience, indicated by an SRC Mark, which conveys to a consumer that a merchant’s e-commerce environment is enabled for EMV SRC.

Stephanie Ericksen, Chair of EMVCo’s Executive Committee, comments: “EMVCo recognises the need to expediently deliver its EMV SRC Specification to help address rising fraud levels in global e-commerce while reducing consumer friction during online checkout. Given the high levels of industry interest in the EMV SRC initiative, EMVCo is publishing a draft specification for wider comment before releasing the official 1.0 version. This allows us to expand on the feedback received to date from EMVCo Associates and Subscribers on the specification development, to help ensure that the EMV SRC Specification addresses the needs of stakeholders across the industry.”

Merchants, card issuers, payment networks, consumers and other stakeholders will benefit from participation in the SRC ecosystem. Consumers will be provided with a choice of payment options and a more consistent, secure purchase experience across merchants that choose to adopt an SRC solution. The reduced need for entering card and shipping information has the potential to lower shopping cart abandonment for merchants. SRC participants will also benefit from a simplified integration, thanks to the definition of consistent communications and interfaces across the digital commerce environment.

EMVCo outlines the following process for feedback submission and consideration by EMVCo:

• All interested stakeholders are invited to submit feedback on EMV SRC Specification v0.9 within the 45 day public comment period, ending on Monday 3 December. 
• The draft EMV SRC Specification can be found on the EMVCo website. 
• Feedback submissions can be made via the public queries mechanism on the EMVCo website. 
• Feedback can be made privately or publicly via an option on the EMVCo website. EMVCo will review comments and publish its responses to public comments received. A plan will be established to incorporate applicable recommendations that will help facilitate global interoperability as the EMV SRC Specification evolves.

EMVCo encourages new participants who are interested in contributing to EMV initiatives to join the EMVCo Associates Programme or become an EMVCo Subscriber.

EMV® SRC Specification v1.0 will be published in 2019 and made available for royalty-free download from EMVCo’s website by all interested parties.