SEPA is a European integration initiative which streamlines payment processes to promote a competitive and efficient European marketplace. For card payments, this will ensure a customer's experience is consistent when making and accepting payments throughout the euro area. The OSCar Consortium is specifically focused on providing payment service providers with the infrastructure to implement the SEPA Card Standardisation programme in the terminal-to-acquirer domain, by fostering the development of SEPA wide point-of-interaction (POI) payment solutions.

By participating in the OSCar Consortium, FIME will contribute towards the implementation of test specifications for the development of SEPA-compliant payment terminals and acquirer interfaces. It will also work with the group to build a recognised certification infrastructure to confirm that products align to the functional SEPA POI standards.

Loÿs Moulin, Coordinator of the OSCar consortium, comments: "To enable market stakeholders to confidently embrace SEPA POI solutions, we believe it is vital to establish an associated evaluation and certification infrastructure. The OSCar Consortium is a collaborative forum where the latest industry expertise can be shared to ensure the advancement of an efficient, secure and successful testing environment. We are delighted that FIME has joined these discussions and will commit resources to this effort."

Pascal Le Ray, General Manager at FIME, adds: "To ensure SEPA for cards becomes a reality and true interoperability is achieved, it is fundamental that the European payments industry works together to develop a central evaluation and certification process of POIs in accordance with the SEPA framework. FIME has extensive experience working with major European banks and payment systems to manage certification programmes that confirm a product will perform as intended before market launch; we look forward to sharing this knowledge with the OSCar Connsortium."

FIME is currently a Technical Advisor and an approved laboratory for EMVCo, the EMV standards body collectively owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa. Its global laboratories are also independently approved by the individual payment systems. Its decision to join the OSCar Consortium is in line with the company's strategic objective to advance secure chip-based technologies in accordance with functional and security features and industry regulation.