Accurate testing and validation of both contact (EMV) and contactless (MasterCard PayPass) cards is vital to the global interoperability of payment cards worldwide.

PIVOT implements MasterCard's Version 3.3 CPV tests, released in June 2010, to help both personalization bureaus and card issuers ensure that their MasterCard cards are personalized correctly.

Acquirer Systems General Manager, Fergal Molloy, commented: "We're happy to be adding card personalization validation to our product portfolio. We look forward to working with both new and existing issuer and bureau customers not only to increase further the quality of their customer deliverables, but also to decrease our customers' time-to-market."

Christian Delporte, Head of Chip Engineering at MasterCard Worldwide, commented: "We are pleased that the CPV module of the PIVOT tool offered by Acquirers Systems, a recognized player in the chip testing market, is qualified against the Personalization Validation Tool Requirements v3.3 as part of the MasterCard qualification program. This new qualified test tool will help MasterCard issuers to prepare for the formal Card Personalization Validation (CPV) session. MasterCard will inform its customers about qualified test tools via the MasterCard OnLine(tm) website which reflects the latest status of all qualified tools."