Cloud-based payments are coming to Europe. The payment industry is rapidly changing as is evident from recent launches of new mobile payment technologies. Issuing banks are required to keep up with the fast pace of changing technology to stay relevant. They need to answer questions such as how, when and where to connect to Apple Pay, Samsung Pay or Android Pay. The choice of using Digital Enablement Services of Visa, MasterCard, American Express or other third-parties are questions that are being asked by European banks today. Getting ready to take on the Cloud-based Mobile Payments challenge can be overwhelming.

For that reason, UL has developed new dedicated testing solutions and services to assist issuing banks gearing up for the implementation of cloud-based mobile payments. UL’s experienced advisors guide banks through the implementation project and assist with technical expertise. To facilitate process management and testing of digitization of new payment products, UL provides fully automated environments for testing of enrollment and life cycle management systems. UL’s recognized global test centers give issuers the ability to verify interoperability of their new payment products versus a vast collection of acceptance devices representing European contactless infrastructure.

Berend van Geffen, executive director at UL’s Transaction Security Division, said: “As cloud-based payments are coming to Europe, we see the payment industry changing rapidly. New payment models, standards and concepts create interoperability and security challenges. There is a growing need in the market for assistance in getting it right. A lot is at stake when a payment product does not work as it is supposed to. At UL, we offer value by providing peace of mind. These new services and tools are developed to prepare European issuers for cloud-based payments.”

As an example, UL’s newly developed Digital Enablement Test Tool is a fully integrated and automated solution to facilitate process management and testing of the digitization of payment cards according to the requirements and uses cases of MasterCard MDES, Visa VTS and Visa Europe VEPTS.