EMVCo has introduced a dedicated testing approval process designed to “promote a more seamless experience when smartphones and other handheld mobile devices are used to accept contactless payments”.

TapToMobile, also known as softPOS, Tap on Phone, Tap on Mobile, Tap to Phone and Tap to Pay, “allows merchants to accept contactless payments directly on near field communication (NFC)-enabled consumer and enterprise devices, without the need for an additional connected device, dongle or attachment,” EMVCo explains.

“The quality of the TapToMobile user experience is dependent on NFC read ranges, which determine how close and precisely positioned the payment device needs to be to the acceptance device for payment information to flow,” it adds.

“While traditional terminals have a high read range, consumer and enterprise devices – which were not designed with payments as their primary function – are more limited. To address this challenge and promote a good user experience, EMVCo has defined minimum acceptance criteria and developed a supporting ‘reduced range’ approval process to evaluate the performance of consumer and enterprise devices for contactless payment acceptance.”

“The introduction of reduced range approval testing addresses the need to enhance the TapToMobile payment experience, enabling EMVCo and industry participants to start measuring the performance of TapToMobile devices and provide feedback on improving read range over time,” Aaron Armstrong, EMVCo executive committee chair, says.

“As we gather this data, EMVCo plans to communicate a roadmap for adapting the acceptance criteria to bring the experience delivered by TapToMobile devices closer to that of traditional payment terminals.”

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