Visa Inc. and MasterCard (News - Alert) joined forces in a move to streamline the chip debit business in the U.S. Visa and MasterCard would now use each other’s debit transaction solutions for conducting secured business over unaffiliated networks. The EMV chip technologies from both the companies will now be available to multiple PIN debit networks; this enables a debit transaction initiated over a single chip solution to be directed to MasterCard, Visa or other participating networks.

In a release, Chris McWilton, President of MasterCard’s North American business, said, “This represents our continued commitment to advance the adoption of the most advanced payment solutions and security standards in order to deliver maximum value to merchants, consumers and issuers. By providing every U.S. debit network with an efficient, market-ready answer, we are delivering a proven solution that not only preserves merchant routing choice, but ensures seamless interoperability with all other EMV programs across the globe.”

The agreement to combine the technologies of Visa and MasterCard in addition to making these solutions accessible to other industry players is a major step ahead in making chip-enabled transactions more secure in the U.S. This agreement will now allow card issuers to integrate Visa or MasterCard solution in the card, making the card flexible for secured use over any partnering PIN debit network in the U.S.

Speaking of the agreement, Elizabeth Buse, Global Executive of Visa’s Solutions business, said, “This approach offers issuers, acquirers and merchants a streamlined solution for debit chip card routing, helps ensure a cost-effective migration, and enables even broader adoption of secure, convenient chip debit programs in the United States. Importantly, this solution allows merchants and acquirers to deploy payment terminals using existing chip technologies that are already widely integrated into existing chip card acceptance solutions.”

The agreement is in line with the EMV Migration Forum's suggestions, which calls for a common debit application identifier that can be used with all cards to reduce complexity in implementing EMV solutions in the U.S.

Visa Inc. and MasterCard are engaged in developing technology and solutions for secured and reliable electronic payments. The products and solutions developed by these companies have made electronic payments more efficient across various business channels.