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Purpose of This document provides an overview of the device testing process for
Document products tested at a Visa-recognized laboratory. It includes information
needed by device vendors, as well as Visa personnel, to understand the
testing that is required for all devices that will support chip card products
that carry the Visa brand.
Visa Recognized To facilitate the testing of devices, Visa has recognized a number of
Laboratories independent laboratories to functionally test devices containing Visa
payment applications on behalf of Visa.
The functions of a Visa recognized laboratory (hereafter referred to in
this document as “Laboratory”) are discussed throughout this document.
Specifications and Device manufacturers are responsible for developing their products
Requirements according to the appropriate Visa specifications and requirements.
Visa specifications and requirements require a technology license
agreement. Technology license agreements can be attained by
contacting PartnerNetwork@visa.com. Appendix A provides information
about selected specifications and requirements.
Support and Visa’s goals are to provide a formal, standardized process for testing
Contact devices that support Visa payment applications, and to enhance
communication between all participants in the device testing and
Information
approval process. Visa Approval Services (hereafter referred to as
“Approval Services”) provides a single point of contact, both for device
vendors and for Visa personnel, on the testing process.
Table 1: Approval Services Contact Information
Email address: ApprovalServices@visa.com
EMVCo Device For contact devices that support Visa Smart Debit/Credit (VSDC):
Testing and Visa does not require that these devices be submitted to Visa for
Approval - testing and approval.
Contact Devices
Visa recognizes and supports approval by EMVCo for EMV Level 1
(interface module) and EMV Level 2 (application kernel). Visa
requires that contact devices accepting VSDC chip card products
have EMVCo approval for EMV Level 1 and 2.
EMVCo specifications, type approval administration documentation, test
requirements, and test cases for EMV Level 1 and Level 2 may be
obtained from the EMVCo website at: www.emvco.com.
Approval Services Before a chip card acceptance device testing can begin the device
Testing Agreement vendor must sign the current Approval Services Testing Agreement with
Visa. This is an agreement between Visa and the product manufacturer
(ASTA)
regarding testing and approval.
Visa Secure Eligible Vendors upon signing the Visa Secure Access Agreement are
Access Service provided access to the secure Visa Partner Network site. This site
provides access to test plans, bulletins, query system, request system
Agreement
and other confidential testing-related information.
Approval Services For each card acceptance device that a device vendor wishes to have
Questionnaire tested, the device vendor must submit an Approval Services
Questionnaire. Visa will use the questionnaire to determine whether the
device is eligible for testing and what testing is required, whether a
request to share test results from a currently approved product is
accepted, and whether changes to an approved product are allowed.
Table 2 outlines the process.
Table 2: Questionnaire Submission Process
Device Vendor 1. Request a VTF number from the Query
System located on the Visa Partner Network.
Log on at
https://partnernetwork.visa.com/vpn/jsp/comm
on/Login.jsp and navigate to Testing and
Approval > Query Application. Submit a
request for a Visa Reference Number.
2. Complete the Questionnaire found at
www.visa.com/devicequestionnaire.
3. Submit the completed questionnaire to each
of the Lab(s) chosen to perform testing.
Ensure that the VTF number obtained from the
Query System has been entered on the
Questionnaire.
Note: All questionnaires submitted to a Lab(s)
must have a VTF number assigned and
populated on the form.
If different Laboratories are being used for testing, the eligible vendor
must have written acceptance confirmation from all Laboratories prior to
any testing being performed i.e. testing should not commence until the
questionnaire has been accepted by all Functional Laboratories.
If any problems occur during testing that would not allow the device
product to successfully complete testing:
Approval Services must be notified immediately
Official testing shall stop
The problem found in testing must be corrected and the product
resubmitted for both functional and risk testing.
Scheduling The eligible vendor and Laboratory are responsible for scheduling testing
once the eligible vendor has received testing confirmation from all
Laboratories performing testing. Visa does not take part in or responsible
for any scheduling between the Laboratories and device vendors.
Questionnaires are valid for 90 days from the date testing is
authorized. If testing is required and a product has not started any
testing within 90 days, the testing authorization expires and a new
questionnaire must be submitted for review.
Table 3: Overview of Scheduling
Device Vendor Contact a laboratory to schedule functional
testing1.
1
It may be necessary to contact more than one Laboratory, depending on the characteristics of
the card acceptance device and the testing available at various Laboratories.
Required Forms Testing will not begin until the Laboratory has received all of the forms
for Testing described in Table 4. All of these forms must be submitted for each test
cycle, that is, if the card acceptance device fails testing or is withdrawn, a
new version of each form must be completed and submitted when the
device is submitted for retesting.
Form Description
Request for Approval Official request for Visa to begin the approval
Form process for a product tested at a Laboratory.
Submit Testing This section lists requirements when submitting card acceptance devices
Materials for testing (in addition to the forms discussed in section Forms and
Scheduling).
Device
The device vendor must send three complete sets of identical devices to
the Laboratory. The Laboratory will send two of the devices to Visa.
Applications
Peripherals
Operating Manual
2
Visa does not test proprietary or domestic applications as part of the testing process. In
particular, the following are outside the scope of Visa device testing:
a. Non-Visa applications (e.g., cash, loyalty, coupons, refunds, etc.)
b. Specific message formats, record layouts, and protocol handling from the device to an Acquirer
host system.
Test Plans Before requesting test plans, the device vendor must sign the Approval
Services Testing Agreement, discussed in section Approval Services
Testing Agreement and must sign any applicable license agreements.
Test plans are available online once the device vendor has completed
the required user agreement and created an account.
The following test plans are available from Approval Services:
Test Plan for Visa Contactless Magnetic Stripe Data (MSD)
Application
Test Plan for Visa Contactless qVSDC Application
Visa grants a device vendor permission to use the test plans solely for
purposes of developing and testing products for a Visa application
subject in all respects to the terms and the continued effectiveness of the
applicable license agreement between the device vendor and Visa. Test
plans and all intellectual property subsisting therein are the property of
Visa. These materials are provided on an “as is” basis “with all faults.”
Visa disclaims all warranties pertaining to these materials, expressed or
implied, including the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for
purposes, or non infringement.
Commercial Test Commercial test tools and test scripts are available from test tool device
Tools and Test vendors. Contact details are available at
http://www.visa.com/approvalservices.
Scripts
Enhancements Test plans and test scripts are subject to enhancements and
and Modifications modifications at any time. Test plan revisions will be accumulated and
made available to device vendors with new releases as determined by
Visa. It is the device vendor’s responsibility to ensure that they have the
most current test plan available. Device vendors should contact their tool
supplier to obtain any test script updates.
Quality Assurance Laboratories performing functional testing may offer quality assurance
Testing testing that can be completed prior to submitting a card acceptance
device for official testing. However, quality assurance testing and the
results will not be recognized as part of Visa’s official testing and
approval process.
Sharing of Test Eligible device vendors that have signed the Approval Services Testing
Results Agreement May 2006 (or later) will have the opportunity to leverage
functional test reports from previously approved products.
Note: If Visa discovers a defect in a previously approved component, all
device vendors involved in the sharing consent to Visa's communication
of all relevant information to each affected device vendor and its
customers, including an explanation of the nature of the defect and
products at issue.
Shared test results are permitted only if:
The products have at least a contactless interface
All device vendors involved in the sharing have signed the
appropriate agreements allowing reports to be shared.
The components being leveraged have been tested and approved
with no issues.
The components being leveraged are not already sharing test
Visa Contactless Visa Contactless Payment allows devices to perform a Visa payment
Payment Testing transaction over radio frequency (Type A and Type B). A contactless
device may be submitted for testing in one of the configurations
described in Table.
Note: Beginning March 1, 2010, all devices submitted for approval to
VCPS 2.1.1 must either be IRWIN compliant (Reader Implementation
Notes version 1.1) or a full terminal supporting all VCPS requirements.
Other combinations of terminal and/or readers will not be accepted for
2.1.1 approval testing.
Table 5: Contactless Device Configuration
Scope Testing and Visa’s testing will encompass requirements defined in Visa Contactless
Approval – Payment Specification including any associated documents referenced
within the specification.
Contactless
The contactless reader will be tested to ensure that the application
complies with the requirements in Visa's specification. The analog and
digital processing will be tested to ensure that it complies with the
associated contactless specification referenced within Visa's
specification. These requirements are mandatory whether the
component supports any Visa application or whether it is only a
contactless reader.
Any changes to the antenna or to the firmware and software that operate
the approved contactless reader would negate Visa’s approval. The
device vendor would be required to resubmit the product to Visa and/or
EMVCo for testing and approval. See section Changes to Previously
Approved Device for details on changes to previously approved
products.
PCDR PCDR’s are generally the reader component that handles the contactless
interface (analog and digital). Such devices are tested and approved to
the ISO OSI presentation layer protocol (ISO/PP) requirements to ensure
they can safely and consistently power and communicate with a
contactless card.
As these types or readers do not support the qVSDC or MSD application,
they must be connected to some type of device (terminal, POS, EPOS),
in order to perform a contactless transaction. Device vendors developing
devices with the qVSDC and/or MSD application may reduce the amount
of required testing by using an approved PCDR. See Sharing of Test
Results section for details.
PCDI PCDI’s make up the other half of the contactless transaction when
connected to a PCDA. Such devices are generally terminals, POS, or
EPOS that only contains the qVSDC and/or MSD application. These
devices are connected to the PCDA which supports the contactless
interface. As previously stated in the PCDR section, device vendors
developing a PCDI solution may reduce the amount of required testing
by using an approved PCDR. See section Sharing of Test Results for
details.
Intelligent As of August 2008, Visa offers a testing process for intelligent qVSDC
Contactless readers (PCDA). This addresses only the ‘intelligent reader’ PCDA
model, which is described as ‘A reader type device that supports almost
Readers
all of the components for the contactless transaction, but needs to
connect to another POS device to carry out a complete transaction.’
Figure 2: Intelligent Reader (PCDA) connected to another device (e.g.
terminal)
Laboratory Test When functional testing is complete, the Laboratory will provide the
Results device vendor with a report outlining the test results. There are two
possible outcomes from functional testing:
The laboratory sends a report to the device vendor identifying the tests
that failed and the reasons for the failures. Visa does not accept test
reports for review with test failures.
If the device vendor intends to resubmit the product, the device vendor:
Corrects the discrepancies
Submits a new Approval Services Questionnaire
Prepares new versions of the forms listed in section Required Forms for
Testing and the materials listed in section Submit Testing Materials.
Contacts the laboratory for a new test date
Legal Conditions Visa’s approval applies only to products that are identical to the product
and Restrictions tested by a Laboratory. A product should not be considered approved by
Visa, nor promoted as approved, if any aspect of the product is different
from that which was tested by a Laboratory, even if the product conforms
to the basic product description contained in the letter of approval. For
example, if a product contains applications or operating systems that
have the same name or model number as those tested by a Laboratory,
but that are not identical to those tested by a Laboratory, then the
product should not be considered or promoted as approved by Visa.
Visa’s approval is granted solely in connection with a specific product
and to the submitting device vendor. Such approval may not be
assigned, transferred, or sublicensed, either directly or indirectly, by
operation of law or otherwise. Only those device vendors receiving a
Visa approval for a device product may claim that they have the
approval.
No device vendor or other third party may refer to a product, service, or
facility as “Visa-approved”, nor otherwise state or imply that Visa has, in
whole or part, approved any aspect of a device vendor or its products,
services, or facilities, except to the extent and subject to the terms and
restrictions expressly set forth in a written agreement with Visa, or in a
letter of approval provided by Approval Services. All other references to
Visa approval are strictly and actively prohibited by Visa.
When granted, Visa approval is provided by Visa to ensure certain
security and operational characteristics important to Visa’s systems as a
whole. However, approval does not, under any circumstances, include
any endorsement or warranty regarding the functionality, quality, or
performance of any particular product or service. Visa does not warrant
any products or services provided by third parties. Approval does not,
under any circumstances, include or imply any product warranties from
Visa, including, without limitation, any implied warranties of
merchantability, fitness for purpose, or non-infringement, all of which are
expressly disclaimed by Visa. All rights and remedies regarding products
and services that have received Visa approval shall be provided by the
party providing such products or services, and not by Visa. Unless
otherwise agreed in writing by Visa, all property and services
contemplated in this document that Visa provides to any third parties are
provided on an “as-is” basis, “with all faults”, with no warranties
whatsoever. Visa specifically disclaims any implied warranties of
Visa Approved Upon successful completion of official testing, the card acceptance
Products List device will appear on one of the three Approved Acceptance Device
Products Lists located at www.visa.com/deviceapls.
Visa Approved Chip Card Devices Supporting Visa Contactless
Payments
Visa Approved Chip Card Reader Components Supporting Visa
Contactless Payments
Visa Approved Intelligent Readers Compliant to Visa Contactless
Reader Implementation Notes
Contactless Reader Components supporting qVSDC that were tested
without a terminal and that are not compliant to the Visa Contactless
Reader Implementation Notes will appear on the Visa Approved Chip
Card Reader Components Supporting Visa Contactless Payments list.
This is to clearly emphasize that full qVSDC implementation has not
been verified because there was no attached terminal during testing.
These readers require further testing at a Laboratory when combined
with a terminal and whose combination is not currently approved.
Intelligent contactless readers supporting qVSDC that are compliant to
the Visa Contactless Reader Implementation Notes (IRWIN Readers) will
appear on the Visa Approved Contactless IRWIN Readers list. This is to
clearly emphasize that full qVSDC implementation has not been verified
because there was no attached terminal during testing. These readers
Renewal Criteria Device products eligible for renewal must meet all of the following
criteria:
The device complies with Visa’s then current versions of
specifications and requirements as described in Appendix A.
The product’s letter of approval contains no comments/specification
deviations; that is, there are no items identified during testing that
are required to be corrected in the next version of the product.
The product has successfully completed any additional testing that
may be required.
General If a card acceptance device does not meet the renewal criteria outlined in
Conditions and section Renewal Criteria.
Exceptions The device vendor will not be sent a notice advising that the product
is not eligible for renewal. It is the device vendor’s responsibility to
track renewal dates for its approved products and take actions
appropriate.
The product will be removed from the Approved Products List the
month following the renewal date.
Renewals are linked to the conditions contained in the letter of approval
sent to the device vendor. If problems are identified with the product after
an approval (or extension if a renewal is granted) Visa may revoke the
approval and/or extension of renewal. Visa reserves the right to revoke
the approvals or extensions at any time.
Visa reserves the right to amend this policy without prior notice. The
effective date of any such change will be communicated to Visa
personnel and device vendors.
Application The device vendor must not have made changes to the Visa approved
Porting application and must not add new components to the product.
Testing Required
Note: For other changes to contactless devices the vendor may contact
Approval Services to determine whether the changes may be considered
for the approval process. If EMVCo handled the Contactless Level 1
testing, the vendor should also contact EMVCo to determine if further
testing is required to maintain the EMVCo approval.
Visa Contactless Card acceptance devices that support Visa Contactless Payments must
Payment support the Visa Contactless Payment Specification listed below. The
Reader Implementation Notes is optional for VCPS 2.0.2 intelligent PCDA-
readers and mandated for VCPS 2.1.1 intelligent PCDA-readers. One of
EMVCo’s Contactless Level 1 specifications is required to develop the
analog and digital functionality required by Visa.
Table 9: Specifications for Visa Contactless Payment
Specification Available Through:
Applus+
FIME
Appendix D: Glossary
Glossary
Analog Testing For devices supporting contactless cards: Ensures that the magnetic field
characteristics are able to carry the communication.
Application Testing Ensures that the device correctly supports the functionality of the Visa
payment transaction.
Digital Testing For devices supporting contactless cards: Ensures that the timing, anti
collision, and protocol characteristics are able to carry the communication.
EMV Level 1 EMV Level 1 testing addresses the mechanical, electrical and protocol
aspects of the interface module of the card acceptance device.
Exhibit A A form, signed by the device vendor and by Visa, that establishes Visa’s
right to review results submitted by the vendor, following testing at a
laboratory; must be submitted before testing begins.
Intelligent Reader See section Visa Contactless Payment Testing. An Intelligent Reader
Component Component differs from an Intelligent IRWIN Reader in that the Reader
Component is not developed to the Visa Contactless Reader
Implementation Notes.
IRWIN Reader or See section Visa Contactless Payment Testing. An IRWIN Reader differs
IRWIN-Compliant from an Intelligent Reader Component in that the IRWIN Reader is
Reader developed to the Visa Contactless Reader Implementation Notes.
MSD Magnetic Stripe Data, a Visa payment application for contactless cards.
Proximity Coupling A device that supports VSDC, and/or MSD, and/or qVSDC application and
Device Integrated / is connected to or contains a contactless reader (PCDR) that supports the
PCDI contactless interface.
Proximity Coupling A contactless reader that supports only the contactless interface.
Device Reader /
PCDR
Proximity Coupling A contactless reader that supports the contactless interface and MSD
Device with and/or qVSDC application.
Application / PCDA
Test Plan See section Test Plans for a list of test plans available from Approval
Services.
Test Script See section Commercial Test Tools and Test Scripts for information about
obtaining test scripts.
Test-cycle The initial submission of a card acceptance device for testing and, if the
Submission device fails testing initially, each subsequent submission for testing.
Visa Approval Provides a single point of contact, both for vendors and for Visa
Services personnel, on the Visa testing and approval process for card acceptance
devices.
Visa Approval A form that enables Approval Services to determine whether a device
Services product is eligible for Visa testing and approval.
Questionnaire
Visa Approval An agreement between Visa and the card manufacturer or chip supplier
Services Testing regarding testing and approval.
Agreement
Visa Approved A listing of card acceptance devices that have passed testing as
Products List described in this document.
Visa Smart Visa service offerings for chip-based debit and credit programs which are
Debit/Credit / VSDC based on EMV and VIS specifications and are support by VisaNet
processing, as well as by Visa rules and regulations.
Visa-recognized A laboratory that is recognized by Visa to test chip card products and
Laboratory devices in preparation for approval by Visa.