Category Archives: News & Events

Update to Discover’s contactless specification

Discover Financial Services have released new bulletins last summer – TAS 003 & TAS 004, to update their contactless specification.

New functional test cases related to these bulletins are integrated into the test plan v1.2, and will be applicable as of April 15^th 2020.

The updates are related to Online PIN, transit transaction types and tokenization.

Payment terminal providers must implement the two bulletins mentioned above and should operate a pre-testing campaign accordingly, before submitting their product to DPAS contactless Terminal Type Approval. For more information, visit Discover website,

To stay informed of current specifications or test plan versions requested during Terminal Type Approvals feel free to contact us at : info@alcineo.com.

EMV® Contact Level 2 – test plan update

EMVCo has released all the documentation related to the update of EMV® Contact Level 2 test plan. Starting January 1^st 2020, contact capable terminal providers can submit their devices to Contact Level 2 v4.3i type approval.

EMVCo has planned a migration period during which product providers can still submit their products to be certified against the 4.3h version :

ICS shall be registered and Official testing session in an accredited laboratory shall start before February 29^th
Test report and Request For Approval shall be submitted to EMVCo at the latest on the 30^th of May 2020

The Test Plan, Test Cases and ICS related to version 4.3i are available on EMVCo website.

If you need further information on payment specifications updates and certification processes, feel free to contact us at : info@alcineo.com

Visa Contactless ICS update

Last October, Visa Approval Services released a new version of the Device Questionnaire for Visa Contactless Approval which is available on Visa Technology Partners website.

Among changes, approval services have added :

new option to select EMV® 3.0 as a choice for EMV® Level 1 Contactless Communication Protocol in section 6 – EMV and Visa Specification Information
new accredited laboratories in the Test Laboratories section.

Terminal vendors submitting their products to Visa Contactless type approval must verify that they submit the latest version of ICS (Implementation Conformance Statement) for review to Visa Approval Services.

For more information on specifications or documentation up-to-date versions, feel free to contact us at : info@alcineo.com

Attend Trustech and learn more about SoftPOS

Come and join us at Trustech, held in Cannes from the 26th to 28th of November. Attend the 3-days event to catch up on digital payment innovations and security.

Expand smartcard payments capabilities at lowest cost and with the fastest implementation leadtime. SoftPOS is the ideal solution, allowing merchants in any working environment to easily accept card payments using their own smartphone or tablet as a Point-Of-Sales terminal, without additional equipment.

The SoftPOS application can be loaded through standard app store – convenient and reliable solution to start accepting digital payment.

Meet us at our stand J009 to find out more about the functionalities of the solution and the security features required by international payment institutions. You can also request a meeting with our sales team for dedicated discussions around payment innovations and security.

To contact our sales team, email us at : info@alcineo.com

Activation of JCB 1.4 contactless

The activation of JCB 1.4 contactless Type Approval is effective since end of September 2019.
Terminal providers shall now submit their products to JCB contactless v1.4 certification process, using the related documentation : TA test program requirements 1.5 and JCB 1.4 Implementation Conformance Statement.
The sunset for accepting Type Approval requests for JCB v1.3 based terminal is end of March 2020, and end of March 2022 for renewal TA requests.
Contact your Alcinéo representative to obtain further information on JCB implementation and type approval process : info@alcineo.com

Keep in touch with us and stay tuned with global payment industry updates.

SoftPOS & data protection

SoftPOS solutions must prove robust data protection to be adopted by merchants and consumers. Security on mobile devices is based on several approaches.

Join us at Trustech (stand J 009) to grasp which security feature is the most reliable in the softPOS mode.

Visit Trustech website and register online or contact us to obtain your free pass.

Follow Alcinéo on Linkedin to keep informed on the latest technological innovation in the area of digital payments.

Convenience and security

Dedicated to small and micro-merchants, the SoftPOS solution allows payment solution providers to extend their smart payment acceptance offer. The principle of SoftPOS is to offer a lightweight, convenient and secure solution to merchants who cannot get equipped with traditional POS systems, or to complete existing POS systems for more mobility…

Check out the solution at Trustech

Mastercard LoA validity

Mastercard has decided to extend the LoA validity for MCL approved products, to align with the validity period granted to contactless terminals certified with EMV® contactless Level 1 3.0 specification.

Products submitted to Mastercard contactless approval, with a Contactless Level 1 compliant with the 3.0 specification will now obtain a LoA with 4 years validity period.

Join us at Trustech 2019

Alcinéo will be exhibiting in Cannes, during Trustech event, 26-28 November 2019.

Join us to share visions of the upcoming challenges facing the digital payment transformation.

Alcinéo is specialized in the development of EMV embedded software, integrating all type of payment terminals.

We also provide logical security modules, compliant with up-to-date PCI PTS requirements.

Our extended range of logical payment and security solutions fit all targeted markets : transit, retail, vending and kiosks, gas dispensers.

Feel free to visit us at our booth J 009, and keep in touch at : info@alcineo.com

We hope to meet you soon on the French Riviera.

Interac Flash v1.6

Interac Flash v1.6 for all contactless terminals

A few months ago, Interac had released a specification update for the certification of payment terminals applicable in the transit sector only.

Interac has published earlier this month the relevant documentation such as ICS or product registration form in v1.6.

From now on, all type of contactless capable terminals submitted to type approval with Interac Flash shall integrate the IF Level 2 kernel version 1.6.

Feel free to contact us for further information at : info@alcineo.com.