The Forum was founded by the Smart Card Alliance to facilitate discussion and collaboration among various industry participants in the proposed U.S. migration to EMV chip card technology.

As previously announced, NAC has formed its own internal EMV Working Group to address the challenges posed for ATM providers by the proposed implementation of EMV technology in the U.S. NAC's EMV Working Group has been undertaking preliminary work to gather information and identify the ATM-related issues presented by introducing EMV technology in the U.S., so that it can provide constructive and well informed input to the Forum and other appropriate venues.

"Having The National ATM Council join the EMV Migration Forum will add a significant resource to help the Forum better evaluate and address the special challenges associated with EMV implementation for ATMs here in the U.S.," says Randy Vanderhoof, acting director for the EMV Migration Forum. "The Forum values and appreciates NAC's involvement and looks forward to its assistance in helping the Forum be proactive in considering those EMV implementation issues that may be ATM specific."

"The timing and conditions for the proposed U.S. migration to EMV chip card technology are some of the most critical issues facing our industry today and in the next several years to come," says NAC's Vice Chairman and EMV Working Group Chair Jim Cabe. "The U.S. rollout of EMV will present operational and financial challenges for Independent ATM providers and the hundreds of millions of consumers that rely on Independent ATMs as their primary source for cash. The NAC EMV Working Group has been studying the recent experiences of Independent ATM operators in Canada associated with the migration to EMV in that country and NAC is dedicated to doing all we can to avoid a repetition in the U.S. of the same sorts of issues faced in Canada."

Bruce Renard, NAC's Executive Director, added: "The complexity and diversity of the ATM and underlyirlying financial services industries in the U.S. is far greater than exists in Canada and other nations that have implemented EMV within their borders, magnifying the challenges here at home for all concerned. NAC is participating in the EMV Migration Forum with hopes of helping to identify and resolve the ATM-related EMV issues in a cooperative and constructive manner before the migration process proceeds. The alternative entails the real potential for serious operational difficulties and disruption on the part of the industry and resulting dissatisfaction and confusion for U.S. consumers — results that we must all work together to avoid."