SEPA is a European integration initiative which streamlines payment processes to promote a competitive and efficient European marketplace. For card payments, this will ensure a customer’s experience is consistent when making and accepting payments throughout the euro area. The OSCar Consortium is specifically focused on providing payment service providers with the infrastructure to implement the SEPA Card Standardisation programme in the terminal-to-acquirer domain, by fostering the development of SEPA wide point-of-interaction (POI) payment solutions.
By participating in the OSCar Consortium, FIME will contribute towards the implementation of test specifications for the development of SEPA-compliant payment terminals and acquirer interfaces. It will also work with the group to build a recognised certification infrastructure to confirm that products align to the functional SEPA POI standards.
FIME is currently a Technical Advisor and an approved laboratory for EMVCo, the EMV standards body collectively owned by American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa. Its global laboratories are also independently approved by the individual payment systems. Its decision to join the OSCar Consortium is in line with the company´s strategic objective to advance secure chip-based technologies in accordance with functional and security features and industry regulation.