U.K.’s EMV Test and Certification Leader ICC Solutions Expands U.S. Footprint to EMV Migration

Industry’s Only Supplier of Fully Qualified Test Scripts for All Payments Certifications (MasterCard, Visa, Discover, AMEX, and EMVCo) Opens Atlanta HQ, Adds Support in NY and CA

SAN FRANCISCO, June 6, 2012 — In a move to support the U.S. banking and payment industry migration to secure EMV chip and pin debit and credit cards, Britain’s ICC Solutions Limited, a leading provider of EMV contact and contactless test and certification products to all but one of the G20 nations, announced today that it has expanded its operations significantly in the United States, adding technical sales, service and support capabilities.

Founded in 1996, British-based ICC Solutions is currently the only company in the world capable of offering fully qualified test scripts for American Express AEIPS, Discover D-PAS, INTERAC Contact & Flash; M-TIP, PayPass & NIV for MasterCard; Visa ADVT & ADVT qVSDC Device Module in addition to EMV Level 2 and EMV Entry Point Type Approval test suites. This will be key as the U.S. develops a successful EMV banking payment infrastructure.

The U.S.A. is the last of the G20 nations to adopt the EMV chip and pin payment standard. EMV offers far superior security and unique personalization capabilities, which reduces card fraud, and contributes to new market opportunities for banks and other financial institutions. “Ultimately, EMV will offer a more convenient and rewarding shopping experience for the consumer,” said Wendy Maisey, Director, ICC Solutions Ltd and a Board Member of ACT Canada, that country’s preeminent payment industry association which helped usher in the EMV era North of the border.

“EMV is a successful and proven technology, but implementation is complex and the U.S. migration is a major undertaking that will place a premium on key process steps like testing and certification, ” stated Dave Maisey, Chief Executive Officer, (CEO), ICC Solutions Ltd. “Globally, the payment industry has gained significant experience with EMV, particularly inWestern Europe and Canada, so the migration process in the USA is expected to be quicker and smoother and confidence is much higher. ICC Solutions has learned some best practices and key among these is planning – allotting adequate time for acquirer certification and testing, problem resolution and cashier training among other things.”

“MasterCard’s recent call for U.S. collaboration on the EMV migration effort is to be applauded,” noted Wendy Maisey.  The size and scale of the migration effort warrants such a collaborative effort similar to the UK’s Chip & PIN Programme Management Organization (PMO) and the efforts of INTERAC in Canada. These organizations proved worthy, impartial enablers in their respective countries’ EMV migration programs.  We in the USA should learn from the challenges faced by Canada and the United Kingdom – and collaborate.”

In addition to the Atlanta HQ, ICC Solutions has also added technical sales and support capabilities in New York, and California. This will strengthen ICC Solutions’ presence in North America where it previously operated from Toronto, Canada. The company will continue to add new resources to support its rapidly growing U.S. presence. “The U.S. EMV migration will be an ongoing and reiterative process, but the end results will be well worth the effort,” added Maisey. “The investment a merchant / acquirer makes in test tools helps ensure the process runs smoothly and on schedule at maximum efficiency. We have enjoyed tremendous success in Canada and Europe enabling major acquirers in these regions to achieve a large number of certifications within a short timeline leading to a successful EMV implementation.”

About ICC Solutions Ltd.

ICC Solutions is the preeminent supplier of EMV chip and PIN contact and contactless test solutions and certifications to the global payments industry. Based in Cheshire, England, ICC maintains offices in Atlanta, Dubai, Singapore and Toronto with partner support offices in New York and California. ICC Solutions offers a broad range of industry recognized test tools, fully approved for certification, and type approvals covering the functional and application level testing of contact and contactless cards and devices (POS and ATM). It also provides industry leading customized Acquirer – Merchant Certification packages. ICC Solutions is the only company to offer fully qualified test scripts for all formal Payment Association certifications, including AMEX, Discover, MasterCard and VISA, in addition to EMVCo.