MasterCard and PULSE Launch Common Debit EMV Solution
MasterCard and PULSE reached an agreement to allow financial institutions that issue EMV debit cards that participate in both the MasterCard and PULSE networks to use MasterCard’s common debit solution on those cards. U.S. debit regulations require that each debit card provide merchants and acquirers the opportunity to route debit transactions over multiple, unaffiliated networks. This is made possible for debit EMV cards through the use of common application identifiers (AIDs). Licensing MasterCard’s common debit AID will help support EMV chip adoption in the United States by enabling issuers to deploy EMV cards in compliance with this regulatory requirement. PULSE will use MasterCard’s common AID to process domestic ATM and POS transactions on behalf of issuers that participate in both PULSE and MasterCard, including those initiated with contactless-enabled devices.
