In April 2026, EMVCo Associates gathered in Singapore to share technical knowledge and expert insights. In this post, Arman Aygen, EMVCo Director of Technology, outlines the technologies and trends shaping the development of EMV® Specifications.
An industry view on agentic payments
Agentic payments are already changing how commerce works. Given the need for trust and interoperability as adoption scales, a key focus at the Singapore Technical Meeting was on how EMVCo is approaching the development of global specifications to support continued innovation in card-based agentic payment solutions.
This was complemented by an expert panel moderated by EMVCo’s Director of Engagement and Operations Oliver Manahan, featuring Clinton Allen, Chair of EMVCo’s Agentic Payments Task Force, Gareth Oliver (Google), Steve Cole (Merchant Advisory Group) and Sean Estrada (Stripe). The wide-ranging discussion provided a broad ecosystem perspective, exploring the potential role that industry standards and specifications can play in addressing emerging challenges, as well as the lessons that can be learned from the organisations building and enabling agentic payments solutions today.
How the Digital Payment Credential supports online payment authentication requirements
Verifiable digital credentials (VDCs) – digital representations of physical credentials such as identity cards, driver’s licenses and diplomas – are gaining momentum across the card payments ecosystem. Commonly held and secured in a digital wallet on a smartphone, they can be presented in-person or online and verified cryptographically.
This is why EMVCo is working to define a Digital Payment Credential (DPC) that represents a payment card-specific application of VDCs. Attendees discussed how the DPC aims to establish a common, interoperable way of using VDCs in online card-based payments. It is intended to address all card payment authentication requirements, as well as device binding, cross-domain usage and dynamic linking. EMVCo is initially focusing on providing a framework for defining the data that a credential contains and how it is structured – known as a ‘schema’. Functionality to support payment initiation is also being investigated.
Enhancing the EMV 3DS Specifications
In response to industry feedback, EMVCo has been working to enhance the EMV 3-D Secure (3DS) Specifications – moving towards a specification structure and delivery process that helps to simplify solution development and deployment, while optimising testing.
As part of this ongoing effort, Singapore featured a Targeted Technology Engagement (TTE) session. This enabled participants to engage in detailed discussion on the proposed model for the next major EMV 3DS Specification version, which introduces a new release model design / approach that aims to provide greater flexibility and enable more iterative, timely updates.
Realising the broader potential of EMV SRC technology
The publication of Version 1.0 of the Electric Vehicle (EV) Open Payments Use Case document illustrates how the broader potential of EMV Secure Remote Commerce (SRC) technology beyond e-commerce could be realised.
The release followed extensive engagement with EMVCo Associates, Subscribers, industry partners and the wider ecosystem. This included a dedicated joint Special Project with CharIN, which initially focused on feedback on the draft use case document to promote interoperability between EMV-based EV open payments and ISO 15118 Plug & Charge systems. EMVCo is now developing a detailed requirements document that could enable a supporting testing infrastructure. As part of this work, the next phase of the Special Project will focus on the potential for alignment with CharIN’s conformance testing process and Testival programme.
Beyond EV open payments, EMVCo is examining how EMV SRC can support additional use cases such as road tolling, alongside new features such as multiple payloads.
Exploring EMV Chip security and testing advancements
Following dedicated Special Interest Meetings to gather industry feedback, EMVCo continues to address questions on the impact of quantum computing and post quantum cryptography on EMV Chip, as well as charting the evolution of relay attacks and potential mitigations.
Various initiatives to advance EMVCo’s Approvals and Evaluations processes across EMV acceptance devices, mobile form factors and EMV Chip cards were also covered in Singapore. This includes a new performance testing approval process for fingerprint sensors on biometric payment cards, with the first products now assessed. Updates were shared on progress to sunset certain EMV Contact Chip Specification features to help improve security, usability and clarity, while an Associate presentation from Simon Metcalfe at Ingenico raised considerations around Level 2 Contactless Letter of Approvals (LoAs).
How to get involved
A consistent theme throughout the Singapore Technical Meeting was the central role of industry feedback and collaboration in shaping the development of EMV Specifications.
That is why we encourage all interested stakeholders to get involved and join us at our upcoming meetings:
- 09-10 June 2026 – EMV User Meeting in Salt Lake City, USA
- 13-14 October 2026 – Board of Advisors Meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam
- 09-12 November 2026 – Technical Meeting in Vancouver, Canada
by Oliver Manahan
by Arman Aygen
by Soumya Chakrabarty