Just joining this series of posts? You can catch up on what you missed:
Part I – Hardware and Environmental Considerations
Part II – Software Changes and the Impact on Merchants

In this third of four posts regarding the implementation of EMV for US based merchants, we will go beyond the hardware and software involved in facilitating the “between the card accepting terminal” and the chip card and specifically discuss Solution Set Certification.

Step 3 – Solution Set Certification – EMV Level 3 Type Approval
In the previous posts we talked about the “card accepting terminal to chip card hardware interface” as EMV Level 1 Type Approval and the “software interface between the card accepting terminal and chip card” as EMV Level 2 Type Approval, yet there is another certification that is discussed much less often – EMV Level 3 Type Approval.

In the most basic terms, EMV Level 3 Type Approval is brand specific and required for each unique solution set. To break down that sentence a bit, by ‘brand specific’ I mean that there is a specific certification script which has to be successfully completed for each EMV card brand in order to receive Level 3 approval from that brand.
All of these approvals can be found on the EMVCo website.

I am using ‘solution set’ in this case to refer to the exact set of hardware and software components used to facilitate the entire EMV transaction set. This includes the type 1 and 2 card reader components previously mentioned as well as the POS or payment application that drives the card reader and interfaces with the card processing host. Here are a few examples of solution sets which could be EMV Level 3 Type Approved:

• Stand Alone Terminal– In this particular example let’s assume that a merchant wants to use a VeriFone Vx520. These terminals already have EMV Level 1 and 2 Type Approvals. In order to receive EMV Level 3 Approval or Solution Set Approval, the terminal would also need a payment application running on the device which supports EMV transactions with a specific acquirer.While this sounds pretty complex, it isn’t too bad. Once the acquirers support EMV, they will provide the Vx520 and the associated Level 3 approved payment application. Thus the merchant will immediately be ready to start processing without any need for incremental certifications.