• Contact Us: [email protected]
U.S. Payments Forum U.S. Payments Forum
  • About
    • Overview
    • Activities
    • Forum Management
    • FAQ
    • Media Resources
  • Membership
    • Current Members
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Levels
    • Membership Application
  • Working Committees/SIGs
    • Overview
    • ATM Working Committee
    • Communication and Education Working Committee
    • Debit Routing Working Committee
    • Electric Vehicle (EV) Open Payments Working Committee
    • Mobile and Touchless Payments Working Committee
    • Payments Fraud Working Committee
    • Petroleum Working Committee
    • Testing and Certification Working Committee
    • Transit Contactless Open Payments Working Committee
    • Special Interest Groups / Birds of a Feather Sessions
  • Resources
    • Forum Published Resources
  • News
    • Forum Press Releases
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Guest Pass Policy
    • Sponsorships
    • Past Events
Login

Cross-Industry EMV Migration Forum Created

  • Home
  • Press Releases
  • Cross-Industry EMV Migration Forum Created
Cross-Industry EMV Migration Forum Created

By Randy Vanderhoof, Executive Director, Smart Card Alliance

It is with great pleasure that I announce the launch of the EMV Migration Forum (the Forum), a new, independent, cross-industry organization created to support the alignment of the EMV implementation steps required to successfully move from magnetic strip technology to secure EMV contact and contactless technology in the United States. Many of us have seen, in other markets around the world, that cooperation and alignment among global payment networks, regional payment networks, issuers, processors, merchants, and consumers is vital for a timely, efficient and effective transition. We’ve heard from payment industry stakeholders who have long called for a neutral forum to focus on the coordination and cooperation necessary to ensure for an effective transition to EMV contact and contactless technology. Our members, other associations, and trade groups have consistently been supportive and eager for us to establish an EMV-focused organization for this vital migration.

With this in mind, the Smart Card Alliance has taken the lead to assemble an organization that will focus on this needed cooperation and coordination across the payments landscape. While part of the Smart Card Alliance corporate organization, the EMV Migration Forum will have a separate membership and aims to include organizations with no previous involvement with or usage of smart cards or chip technology other than how this technology is integrated into the EMV payments infrastructure.

The new organization is seeking representatives from financial card issuers, payments processors, merchants, acquirers, payment networks, industry suppliers and other constituent groups including payments industry associations to ensure that all stakeholders in the payment industry are represented.

The Forum will provide a seat at the table shared by all payments stakeholders to make recommendations, share best practices, and discuss challenges that are impacting the efficient and timely migration to EMV.  The Forum will engage in collaborative projects to educate the payments market to the process-related changes to the payments infrastructure and address the needs for consumer awareness and education about EMV cards and terminals and how these changes will impact them.

This is the time for an organization like the EMV Migration Forum. American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa have all announced their plans for moving to an EMV-based payments infrastructure in the U.S., with payment processor mandates in place for 2013, and major changes for managing fraud risk set for 2015.

While working towards this day – where the Smart Card Alliance steps into the forefront and and into new territory– I was frequently reminded of the quote by the visionary Rosabeth Moss Kanter, in which she said “Leaders must wake people out of inertia. They must get people excited about something they’ve never seen before, something that does not yet exist.”

While we’re certainly not the first to do this, I’m proud to oversee an organization that is willing to break through that inertia and work past risk to fill a need that we already know exists.

I invite you to learn more about the Forum by visiting http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-emv-migration-forum.

Share this

Search the site

Latest Press Releases

  • US Payments Forum Spring Market Snapshot: AI and Biometrics at Odds, Overcoming Online Fraud and the End of Magstripe April 2, 2025
  • 2025 Identity & Payments Summit Agenda Explores New Frontier of Fraud Prevention, Digital Credentials, AI and Quantum Computing February 13, 2025
  • US Payments Forum Announces 2025 Steering Committee January 22, 2025

About the U.S. Payments Forum

The U.S. Payments Forum is a cross-industry body focused on addressing issues that require broad cooperation and coordination across many constituents in the payments industry. The Forum is an affiliated organization of the Secure Technology Alliance, founded in August 2012 as the EMV Migration Forum, and renamed in the U.S. Payments Forum in 2016 to include other new and emerging payments technologies in the United States.

Media Resources

Members of the media interested in learning about and accurately reporting on current and emerging payments technologies in the U.S., such as EMV, tokenization, encryption, and mobile and contactless payments, should visit our Media Resources page.

Quick Links

  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us

 

All Rights Reserved © 2025 U.S. Payments Forum. Terms of Use.
EMV is a trademark, and in some countries a registered trademark, of EMVCo LLC. U.S. Payments Forum is using the EMV mark under a license from EMVCo, but otherwise it is not affiliated or associated with EMVCo, and the content of the site is not endorsed by EMVCo.

Login Area

Create New Account / Forgot Password?
Login with Facebook Account
Login with Google Account
Login with Twitter Account
Login with Yahoo Account
Session 4: Tuesday, August 12th at 9am PT

Crypto & Stablecoins: Unpacking the Future of Digital Value in Payments

Wrap up the U.S. Payments Forum Summer Education Series with a timely deep dive into one of the most talked-about trends in the financial world: cryptocurrency and stablecoins.

In this final, member-exclusive session, industry experts will demystify the fundamentals of these digital assets and explore their potential impact on the payments ecosystem. From definitions and use cases to regulatory considerations and real-world adoption, this conversation will provide clarity on where crypto fits—and where it’s headed—in mainstream commerce.

If you’re curious about how digital currencies may reshape transactions, settlement, and consumer expectations, this session is your chance to get informed and stay ahead.

Register Now
Session 1: Tuesday, June 24th at 9am PT Agentic Payments

Agentic Payments: The Next Evolution in Seamless Transactions

Kick off the U.S. Payments Forum Summer Education Series with a forward-looking conversation on agentic payments—a transformative approach where devices, apps, or digital assistants initiate and complete transactions on behalf of users.

In this member-exclusive session, Visa and Mastercard will share insights into their agentic payment strategies and real-world applications, exploring how AI-driven automation is reshaping customer experiences and the broader payments ecosystem. Joining the conversation is Firmly, a company building the agentic commerce infrastructure powering frictionless AI-native checkout across digital channels.

Moderated by Andrew Gordon from Discover, this discussion will unpack the opportunities, considerations, and future outlook for autonomous commerce.

Moderator: Andrew Gordon, Discover

Panelists: Sukh Dev, Mastercard; Reed Bouchelle, Visa; Kumar Senthil, Firmly

Register Now
Session 2: Tuesday, July 8th at 9am PT

Demystifying Tokenization: Protecting Payments in a Digital-First World

Join us for the second installment of the U.S. Payments Forum Summer Education Series, where industry experts from SHAZAM and Mastercard, will break down the complexities of tokenization—a foundational technology for securing modern payment ecosystems.

This members-only session will cover the critical role tokenization plays in reducing fraud, protecting data, and enabling secure digital commerce. Attendees will gain clarity on the different types of tokens—network, acquirer, and card-on-file—and learn when issuer involvement is required, when it isn’t, and why that distinction matters.

Whether you’re building, managing, or modernizing payment systems, this session will equip you with the knowledge needed to navigate tokenization with confidence.

Panelists: Manish Nathwani, SHAZAM; Sukh Dev, Mastercard

Register Now
Session 3: Tuesday, July 29th at 9am PT – 90 minutes

Merchant and Issuer Special Interest Group (SIG)

Join industry leaders Joe Vasterling (Best Buy) and Sara Walsh (Bank of America) for the third session of the U.S. Payments Forum Summer Education Series—a collaborative conversation between merchants and issuers focused on solving shared challenges and accelerating innovation. This member-exclusive session offers a neutral space to explore evolving regulations, customer experience expectations, and the adoption of new payment technologies. Whether you’re working to optimize transaction flows, enhance security, or better align ecosystem priorities, this session is your chance to engage directly with peers, exchange insights, and help shape the future of payments.

Led by: Joe Vasterling, Best Buy; Sara Walsh, Bank of America

Register Now