nexo Standards, the open standards association dedicated to the creation of implementation specifications for card payment acceptance globally, and JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., today announced that JCB became the Principle Member of nexo Standards in its Card Schemes category.

nexo Standards, headquartered in Brussels, works on behalf of all card payment stakeholders to harmonise contact and contactless card payment acceptance. By developing new protocols and implementation specifications which promote interoperability between card acceptance and acquiring solutions, together with integrated retail and terminal management systems, nexo Standards is developing a new generation of universal card payment standards.

As a Principal Member, JCB will validate that JCB’s technical requirements for card payments and cash withdrawals are supported by nexo protocols, with a particular focus on the nexo-FAST suite of specifications. nexo-FAST specs provide an unambiguous description of the application on an EMV Chip and PIN payment terminal which delivers compliance with the European Payments Council’s SEPA Cards Framework. By establishing common standards in this area, nexo-FAST enables a uniform transaction user experience across all payment networks utilising SEPA compliant terminals. It also provides a one-stop-shop for EMV and SEPA compliant terminal testing, reducing the risk of interoperability obstacles emerging between payment applications and, as a result, promoting an open market for EMV and SEPA terminals.

Arnaud Crouzet, General Secretary, nexo Standards, comments: “nexo is delighted to welcome JCB to its growing portfolio of Principal Members. Success in our mission to harmonise card payment acceptance globally relies on our engagement with international payment brands like JCB. Through nexo-FAST, nexoStandards has placed a major focus on developing specifications that facilitate the implementation and interoperability of EMV and SEPA payments acceptance. JCB’s participation in nexo-FAST is a testament to the importance of this work.”

Tsuyoshi Notani, Managing Director, JCB International (Europe) Ltd., adds: “JCB is pleased to join nexo Standards and contribute to its mission to harmonise payment acceptance worldwide. EMV contactless and Chip and PIN payments, together with the EU’s SEPA initiative are important drivers in the European payments market. It is important that JCB participates in the development of the nexo-FAST standards, to ensure that the acceptance infrastructure built on those standards is truly international in its capability.”

As a result of JCB’s participation in nexo Standards, payment acceptors, processors, payment service providers and vendors will soon be able to implement JCB contact and contactless transaction kernels into their EMV and SEPA compliant terminals as specified by nexo-FAST. They will also be able to test their implementations using JCB’s test cases for common certification, ensuring their terminals will accept JCB payments without issue once deployed.