The aim of EMVCo Business Associate participation is to give all payment card issuers and acquirers, networks and their representative associations, the opportunity to provide EMVCo with input on strategic business and implementation issues related to the use of the EMV Specifications. Organisations participating at this level will have a seat on the EMVCo Board of Advisors, giving them the opportunity to communicate with senior EMVCo representatives on EMV's future direction.



EMVCo Technical Associates will have the opportunity to provide input and receive feedback on detailed technical and operational issues connected to the EMV Specifications and related processes. Intended to appeal to any industry stakeholder with an interest in EMV, this participation type also provides organisations with the opportunity to interact with EMVCo's technical working groups via quarterly workshops, offer input to meeting agendas, submit technical contributions to EMVCo, and gain early access to draft specifications and other technical documents. Six seats on the EMVCo Board of Advisors will be reserved for Technical Associates representing distinct market sectors and identified through an annual election process.



The annual fee for Business Associate participation is $12,500. The higher Technical Associate annual fee of $25,000 reflects the increased cost and value of access to the EMVCo Working Groups. Business Associates wishing to participate at a Technical Associate level may do so for an annual fee of $12,500, in addition to the base Business Associate fee.



Art Kranzley, Chair of the EMVCo Executive Committee, comments: "EMV has become the global payment industry standard with an increasing number of stakeholders worldwide. Therefore, it makes sense to broaden the industry's involvement in EMVCo's standardisation efforts. By introducing the two new participation types, EMVCo hopes to encourage industry players to engage in EMVCo as a standards organntandards organisation. This development is a very positive advancement for the industry and will help to further facilitate the global adoption of EMV through increased accessibility and understanding of the technology."



As a further step towards facilitating industry involvement in EMVCo, the organisation's website subscriber programme, which was previously only available on an individual subscriber basis, has now been extended to offer a company subscription option. While individual subscriptions are still available for an annual fee of $750, multiple individuals within the same organisation can now benefit from subscriber privileges under the cost-effective company subscription option, which carries an annual fee of $2,500*.



While the new fee model will partially offset the administrative costs associated with the organisational restructure, the four equity owners of EMVCo - American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa - will continue to provide the majority of organisational funding and resources.



Brian Byrne, Chairman of the EMVCo Board of Managers, adds: "The changes to EMVCo's participation framework will not affect the royalty-free availability of final and published versions of the EMVCo Specifications, bulletins, and application notes, type approval process documents and approval lists. EMVCo will continue to provide free industry access to these documents through the EMVCo website."