The Visa Merchant Business News Digest is an online publication, providing a summary of recent Visa Business News articles. We know how important it is for you to have the pertinent information quickly and clearly, and our mission is to make that as simple as possible. The digest provides highlights of key merchant-related publications, but is not intended to be a complete list. As always, please work with your acquirer for further information on released publications and applicable announcements.
Visa 3-D Secure (3DS) 2.0 service is now available for clients and merchants to enhance the security of e-commerce transactions. In addition, updated regional activation dates that define when fraud liability extends to issuers that do not participate in 3DS 2.0 are now available.
Visa has streamlined contactless Level 3 chip certifications. Once a terminal device is set up to process online quick Visa Smart Debit / Credit (qVSDC) contactless transactions and has been certified for contact chip, then only limited streamlined testing will be required for qVSDC contactless.
Visa will introduce a new credential-on-file use case with Adyen to accelerate the deployment of Visa tokens to e-commerce merchants.
Visa has updated the Visa Account Funding Transaction (AFT) Processing Guide. Clients and their partners that originate or receive AFTs should review the updated guide for information on how to best support these transactions.
Visa will introduce a new merchant credential-on-file use case with payment service provider Cherri Tech, Inc. to accelerate the deployment of Visa tokens to e-commerce merchants.
Effective April 2019, clients and processors must use Visa-provided test encryption keys for testing in the VisaNet Certification Management Service (VCMS). Clients and processors must upgrade their VisaNet Test System-VisaNet Integrated Payment, host security modules and test host systems to support the Visa-provided test encryption keys.
Visa has updated the Visa Direct Original Credit Transaction (OCT)-Global Implementation Guide. Clients and their partners that originate or receive Visa Direct original credit transactions (OCTs) should review the updated guide for information on how to enable and support services such as money transfers, funds disbursements, prepaid loads and credit card bill payments.
Visa is reminding all clients to review their system setup and transaction coding to ensure compliance with Visa rules.
Visa has published a white paper, flyer and brochure that help address how small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can increase sales and improve the customer experience through technology and digital commerce. These materials, which include research findings, real-life testimonials and a practical how-to guide, are available for Visa’s partners to distribute to SMBs.
For all Europe region-issued card payment devices, the VisaNet Integrated Payment (V.I.P.) System will block all contactless magnetic-stripe data transactions. This will affect all Europe region issuers, acquirers and merchants worldwide.
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has published a standard for protecting PIN-based transactions on commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) devices. Merchants accepting PIN-based transactions via COTS devices must use or transition to a PCI-validated software-based PIN entry on COTS solution by 31 July 2019.
All organizations that exchange keys with Visa should plan to transition from variant format encryption to key block format encryption. The ability to perform key exchanges with Visa in variant format will not be supported by Visa after June 2021.
Visa will introduce a new credential-on-file use case with CyberSource to accelerate the deployment of Visa tokens to e-commerce merchants.
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has updated the information supplements to provide guidance to merchants and service providers using Secure Sockets Layer / early Transport Layer Security for card-present POS point of interaction terminal connections after 30 June 2018, as well as the impact on Approved Scan Vendor scans in such cases.
The Visa PIN security website has been updated to provide news about the PIN Security Program and includes important information about the Europe PIN Security Program integration.
Visa Sensory Branding elements consisting of the Visa brand animation, the Visa brand sound and the Visa brand haptic are now available for use in client applications. Visa Sensory Branding elements can be downloaded as a software development kit for iOS, Android and web through the Visa Developer Platform.
The Visa Merchant Data Standards Manual has been updated to provide more clarity related to merchant category code definitions for transactions involving non-fiat currency and money transfer merchants. The document remains publicly available at visa.com to make it easily accessible to all clients, merchants, agents and processors.
Visa is making the requirement to capture and validate a signature optional for all EMV-enabled merchants across all Visa regions. Visa is also removing the requirement to keep transaction receipts, and is prohibiting issuers from initiating retrieval requests for transactions at all EMV-enabled merchants. These changes were previously announced for the U.S., Canada and LAC regions, and now reflect a global policy.
Visa is expanding its existing Visa Token Service debit token call-out functionality to include detokenization of Visa tokens for card-absent debit transactions.
Effective 1 August 2018, U.S. Visa Debit issuers participating in Visa Token Service will have the option to allow their unaffiliated debit networks to call-out to Visa systems for card-absent transactions to exchange the Visa token for the associated primary account number.
Visa will only accept Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) validations that comply with version 3.2.1.
Visa published an easy-to-use guide to help smaller merchants navigate the world of transaction disputes.
For more information, please see Dispute Management Guidelines for Visa Merchants on Visa.com.
As a part of efforts to enhance the 3-D Secure (3DS) program, Visa is announcing changes to the Visa Fraud Monitoring Program and Visa Acquiring Monitoring Program to help mitigate U.S. domestic 3DS fraud.
The Fraud Reporting System has been enhanced with operational and functional changes as part of the April 2018 VisaNet Business Enhancements release. The changes are centered on incorporating new fraud types that reflect a changing fraud landscape and updating program rules around the fraud reporting process.
Visa will sunset rules for issuance of transit-only Static Data Authentication (SDA) cards, as well as acceptance of SDA contactless payments in the mass transit environment. Following the sunset of these rules, Visa will require all new contactless cards and contactless-only terminals to support only fast dynamic data authentication.
Effective immediately, for 3-D Secure 1.0.2 Visa Token Service transactions only, merchant plug-ins should not match the last four digits of the PAN received in the authentication response message with the value supplied in the initial verification enrollment request message. Other validation options are provided for these transactions.
As previously announced, effective 14 April 2018, Visa made the requirement to capture and validate a signature optional for all EMV-enabled merchants in the U.S., U.S. Territories and Canada. The requirement to capture and validate a signature will become optional for all EMV-enabled merchants in LAC effective 13 October 2018.
For EMV-enabled merchants who prefer to continue to capture a signature or to use a signature for ensuring the cardholder’s acceptance of additional terms and conditions of sale, no change is required. However, these merchants will no longer need to store signatures if they do not wish to do so.
These changes apply to all transactions performed at EMV-enabled merchant terminals and apply to Visa requirements only. Merchants should use their own discretion about whether they should capture signatures or keep receipts for non-Visa related requirements.
EMV enablement is defined as the implementation of an acceptance device capable of reading, communicating and processing full-data transactions from a compliant EMV chip card. Specifically, this means that the Terminal Entry Capability (TEC) in the authorization message must be “5” for all Visa products the merchant accepts, as defined in the applicable VisaNet manuals.
For further information, please see additional information on Visa.com.
Effective 13 April 2019, the Visa Rules will be updated to clarify merchant requirements for processing purchase returns. Visa recently announced new requirements to support the authorization of credit transactions for purchase returns / refunds. In response to client feedback, Visa is further clarifying requirements for processing refunds.
Effective 13 October 2018 requirements for Europe payment facilitators will be aligned with global requirements to provide a more comprehensive risk practice. Existing European rules for payment facilitators requiring customer service to be provided in the language in which the services are offered will be expanded globally. Additionally, in cases where a cardholder can access the payment facilitator’s website directly, the payment facilitator will be required to clearly display customer service contact information.
Effective 14 April 2018, Visa is streamlining the Visa Rules by removing retired requirements, eliminating redundancies and simplifying language. Most of the changes will have no operational impact and have no action required.
Visa reminds clients of the importance of the agent registration program, which provides Visa with visibility into the service providers in the payment ecosystem.
Visa is updating the eligibility requirements for retail and supermarket credit transactions for merchants to qualify for incentive interchange programs.
Visa is updating the eligibility requirements for retail and supermarket credit transactions for merchants to qualify for incentive interchange programs.
Visa encourages all organizations to review the new guidance document published by the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council and share it with customers, as appropriate.
Visa is clarifying requirements to ensure that U.S. EMV terminals can properly originate transactions from Canada-issued co-badged credit and debit cards. It is critical that vendors implement these changes to ensure interoperability.
Effective 14 April 2018, issuer fraud-chargeback rights for card-absent transactions that are approved with a Card Verification Value 2 mismatch response will be removed for all transactions in all regions.
Visa is moving away from the Visa payWave brand name for Visa’s contactless solution.
In keeping with Visa’s ongoing efforts to provide greater flexibility for clients, Visa is removing the requirement to use Visa payWave branding on cards and on merchant terminals effective 1 February 2018. This change applies to AP and LAC only – payWave is currently optional on cards and terminals in all other regions.
Visa will no longer approve new card designs or merchant / terminal signage using the payWave brand as of 1 November 2018. Visa will not require existing cards or terminal signage to be replaced as a result of this brand change.
The future state is focused on contactless payments with Visa, and the guiding language at point-of-sale for consumers is “tap to pay here” to facilitate the transaction.
Visa is implementing new requirements for card present transactions when merchants defer transaction authorizations.
When their POS authorization systems are offline and cannot process card-present transactions, merchants often complete the transaction with the cardholder and defer the authorization until their POS authorization systems are back online. Currently there is no requirement for merchants to identify a deferred authorization. In some instances, this can cause confusion for issuers.
To improve authorization processing, effective October 2018 optional and April 2019 mandatory, Visa is implementing new rules pertaining to deferred authorization indication and processing timeframes.
This article originally ran in the 25 May 2017 (summary below) edition of the Visa Business News. It is being republished, as the effective date of 31 December 2017 has been postponed to 31 January 2018. Please use this version of the article going forward.
A rule to clarify the requirement that merchants process sales tax rebates as original credit transactions will take effect 13 April 2019.
Many governments allow tax-free shopping for foreign travelers. Merchants, acquirers and solution providers collaborate to offer sales tax / value-added tax (VAT) recovery to foreign travelers when they leave the country with purchased goods. To ensure this practice is conducted according to the Visa Rules, Visa is mandating that merchants:
Visa is clarifying the existing merchant processing rules to ensure acquirers and service providers that offer sales tax recovery service can place the funds on the cards.
Visa is providing clients additional time to transition to Acquirer Device Validation Toolkit Version (ADVT) 7.0 from ADVT Version 6.1.1.
In September 2017, Visa announced the release of a new version of the Acquirer Device Validation Toolkit (ADVT)—ADVT Version 7.0—and informed users that they had until 31 January 2018 to upgrade from the previous version of the toolkit—ADVT Version 6.1.1. Due to delays in certifying third-party test tools, Visa is allowing clients to use ADVT Version 6.1.1 until 31 May 2018.
Effective 1 June 2018, use of ADVT Version 6.1.1 will not be permitted. Instead, users will be required to obtain a copy of ADVT Version 7.0, either through a third-party test tool provider or via the Visa Mobile Card Personalization App / Utility Card.
Visa has created standards to support the non-standard blind notch card shape for visually impaired cardholders.
Effective immediately, issuers may develop and issue the non-standard blind notch card shape for visually impaired cardholders. Visa has created standards in support of these non-standard card shapes that allow for a cut-out notch to assist cardholders in determining the direction in which the card is to be inserted into a payment terminal at the point of sale.
To increase security for Verified by Visa (VbV) transactions, Visa is requiring TLS version 1.2 to connect to all VBV hardware. Clients may need to make changes to their VbV infrastructure to meet the new security requirements.
In the 4 February 2016 edition of the Visa Business News, Visa announced support of the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) bulletin on migrating from Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and early versions of Transport Layer Security (TLS) on all Verified by Visa (VbV) endpoints. Version 3.2 of the PCI Data Security Standard (DSS) was released in April 2016 and now requires all endpoints stop the use of SSL and early versions of TLS.
To ensure Visa meets its compliance commitments for PCI, Visa is requiring that all VbV merchant server plug-in and access control server providers that connect to VbV production infrastructure, including the Visa directory server and the authentication history server, meet the following requirements by the specified date:
A new 3-D Secure Protocol and Core Functions Specification v2.1.0 can be downloaded from EMVCo’s website.
3-D Secure is a messaging protocol that allows the merchant, card issuer and consumer to exchange data during an e-commerce transaction for consumer authentication purposes.
EMVCo has released 3-D Secure 2.0 Protocol and Core Functions Specification Version 2.1.0 and Bulletin 196. Bulletin 196 provides updates, clarification and errata that are incorporated into the October 2017 version 2.1.0 specification. The new 3-D Secure 2.0 specification and Bulletin 196 are available to the general public from the EMVCo website.
Visa allows debt repayment to occur on debit and prepaid cards in all regions. In addition, debt repayment rules will be refined in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and Europe.
Visa is expanding the use of debit and prepaid cards for debt repayment. The following rules will take effect in 2018.
Effective 14 April 2018:
Effective 13 October 2018, the debt repayment rules will be refined in the Europe region.
Debt Defined
The Visa Rules define debt as money owed by one party (debtor) to another party (creditor), including the obligation to repay money in connection with the following:
According to the Visa Rules, the following are not treated as debt:
Additional Requirements
For additional requirements, including changes for existing markets in Canada, Europe and the U.S. regions, as well as in Australia and New Zealand, refer to the October publication of Visa Rules found on Visa.com.
The Dynamic Currency Conversion Compliance Program now includes European acquirers. The Visa Rules and the International Transactions Guide have been updated to provide additional information about regulations, best practices and compliance procedures.
In the 1 September 2016 edition of the Visa Business News, Visa introduced new rules related to credential-on-file transactions, including merchant disclosure requirements and transaction identifier requirements went into effect for merchants and acquirers on 14 October 2017.
However, based on stakeholder feedback, and after assessing market readiness and taking into account the holiday season system freeze, Visa will extend the time to make the necessary system changes until 30 April 2018.
While the rule is still effective as of 14 October 2017, Visa will not take any compliance action or assess non-compliance assessments to non-compliant entities prior to 30 April 2018. Entities that comply with the rule by 30 April 2018 will not be required to submit a waiver request to Visa.
Effective 13 April 2019, all terminals accepting contactless payments in the U.S. must actively support EMV contactless functionality; and the legacy magnetic stripe data contactless technology will be retired.
Visa has released a new Android-based mobile app that combines the ability to personalize chip test cards for various testing toolkits, including the Acquirer Device Validation Toolkit, Visa Contactless Device Evaluation Toolkit, Global Host Test Cards, and other specialized test cards. This new app requires the use of a mobile handset with near-field communication capability, as well as a Visa-supplied VMCP Utility Card.
Version 7.0 of the Acquirer Device Validation Toolkit and Version 2.3 of the Contactless Device Evaluation Toolkit have now been released by Visa to third-party test tool providers. In the coming weeks, Visa will begin working with these providers to ensure test tools are available that meet the requirements of these newly released toolkit versions. An updated Version 4.3.0 of the Visa payWave Test Tool is also available from the tool vendor for use in the Europe region.
The Visa Smart Debit / Credit (VSDC) Certificate Authority 1152-bit key will expire on 31 December 2017. After its expiration and no later than 1 July 2018, this key must be removed from VSDC terminals. Each Visa Smart Debit / Credit (VSDC) or Visa contactless card that supports Offline Data Authentication (ODA) or Offline Enciphered PIN must contain an Issuer Public Key (IPK) Certificate that is signed by a VSDC Certificate Authority (CA) private key and provided to the issuer by the VSDC CA. These keys are validated by VSDC terminals using the associated public key. In order to ensure that expired keys are no longer used at terminals, Visa requires that only valid, non-expired public keys be loaded into VSDC terminals.
Effective 14 April 2018, issuer fraud-chargeback rights for U.S. domestic card-absent transactions that are approved with a card verification value mismatch response will be removed to align the U.S. with similar practices in AP, Canada, CEMEA and Europe.
Effective immediately, Visa is cancelling minor unit currency changes for the Icelandic króna that were to take effect with the October 2017 VisaNet Business Enhancements release. Clients and processors that have already changed the minor units in their processing systems must revert those changes.
To help acquirers, POS partners and value-added resellers migrate to quick Visa Smart Debit / Credit contactless solutions, Visa is providing implementation and testing best practices.
Visa is requiring acquirers to ensure that their U.S. fuel merchants in areas identified as high-fraud geographies include Address Verification Service ZIP code information in all automated fuel dispenser authorization messages.
The Card Acceptance Guidelines for Visa Merchants is a comprehensive manual for all businesses that accept Visa® transactions in the card-present and/or card-absent environment. The purpose of this guide is to provide merchants and their back-office sales staff with accurate, up-to-date information and best practices to help merchants process Visa transactions, understand Visa products and rules, and protect cardholder data while minimizing the risk of loss and fraud.
The updated resource defines required procedures in response to an account data compromise.
As merchants in United States enable their payment card acceptance infrastructure for EMV chip technology starting October 1, 2015, counterfeit fraud will increasingly migrate to acceptance segments that have not implemented EMV chip technology, such as automated fuel dispensers (AFDs). This will lead to counterfeit fraud chargeback liability for fuel merchants if AFD EMV chip acceptance enablement is not completed by October 1, 2020.
Visa prepaid and debit cards are popular forms of payment at the register. Visa’s Partial Authorization service provides an alternative to declining a transaction when the card’s available balance is not sufficient to approve a transaction in full. Participating issuers return an authorization response with an approval for a portion of the original amount requested, enabling the remainder of the transaction amount to be paid by other means using split tender functionality.
More webinars and documents containing in-depth information designed to help Visa merchants navigate acceptance, fraud, data security, authorization and more. Download, print and keep them on hand at your business.
This digest consists of summaries only and does not supersede or modify Visa Business News publications. Please contact your Acquirer for further information about any publications. Actual Visa Business News articles are not public materials and should not be treated as public documents, e.g., posting on merchant websites, etc.
The Visa Business News was launched to Europe clients on August 11, 2016. Prior to that, announcements were communicated via Visa Europe Member Letter.
