The bank's PBOC V2 standard is a localized version of EMV for domestic bank cards.

With the certification, Vx Solutions products, including dial-up and IP-based countertops as well as wireless based mobile devices, will be able to support EMV cards and China UnionPay branded chip cards inside and outside of China.

To drive chip migration in China, the PBOC issued the EMV-compatible national payment standard for new POS payment systems deployed in China. The Verix V architecture, which powers the Vx Solutions product line, was certified in January 2006 by the Bank Card Test Center of China - a national test laboratory for payment devices.

VeriFone has a strong presence in all markets that China UnionPay has penetrated, including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, USA, and Germany.

"VeriFone's PBOC V2 certification will ease the acceptance of China UnionPay branded cards worldwide, including prospective markets like Taiwan and Latin America where VeriFone has unrivalled market leadership," said William Nichols, VeriFone vice president, Emerging Markets & International Marketing. "On the home front, China could accelerate its acceptance infrastructure expansion rate to accept foreign issued EMV or China Unionpay branded chip cards, without the fear of high fraud rates that can accompany a surge in tourism."