User:Thor1982/sandbox

ep2 eft/pos 2000
eft/pos 2000, ep2 for short , is the specification standard for the processing and structure of EFT transaction payments in cashless payment transactions. ep2 ensures that a uniform, modern communication standard is created and adhered to for all cardholders in the Swiss market. Every manufacturer of EFT/POS terminals must undergo an EP2 certification if they want to work in the Swiss market with Swiss-specific ep2 cards and card processors. These include PostFinance Card, REKA, SBB cards, gift cards, lunch check cards and customer loyalty cards as well as mobile payments. Anyone who wants to operate an EFT/POS terminal in Switzerland according to the Swiss standard must have it approved by the EP2 certification body.

With ep2, a far-reaching standardization of the EFT/POS system in Switzerland was achieved, taking into account all international standards (EMV, PCI, ISO and Card Schemes). This is a concept that is SEPA and PCI-DSS compatible and is also widely recognized in Europe.

Supported Technologies
EMV contact chip cards EMV contactless chip cards Mobile devices with NFC and Bluetooth (BLE) QRC on the terminal or e-commerce app magnetic stripe cards Secure manual card number entry via PIN pad

Industry Support
Industry support for:


 * Retail / Retail
 * Car rental, hotel industry, gastronomy
 * restaurants
 * Unattended points of sale / vending machines
 * Filling stations and charging solutions for electromobility
 * distance selling / e-commerce
 * Special solution for fast processing in public transport (deferred payment, known fare transactions and mass transit transactions)
 * Scope of the ep2 standard

log properties



 * XML based protocol
 * Multihost protocol
 * Dual message system with online/offline capability
 * Extensive security concept
 * Standardized, consistently automated activation, update and decommissioning processes via remote maintenance
 * from version 8.0.0 additional communication encryption using TLS

Benefits and advantages of ep2
The founders and members of the Association Technical Cooperation ep2 pursue the following goals with the ep2 standard and its further development:

Open multihost standard, open to all market participants Standardization of the technical EFT/POS infrastructure Implementation of the Card Scheme and Payment Card Industry (PCI) requirements Enabling and increasing competition among terminal manufacturers and card processors. Every terminal manufacturer with ep2 software and every acquirer with ep2 host connection can participate without any market entry barriers Standardized, uniform payment process for the cardholder as well as uniform payment processes for all brands and transaction types Reduction of transaction costs and transaction time Uniform admission process with guaranteed quality levels and equal treatment of all market participants (only for Switzerland & Liechtenstein) Active customer involvement via representatives of the Swiss trade (VEZ) Cooperation on a technical level, competition on a product/offer level With ep2, a far-reaching standardization of the EFT/POS system in Switzerland was achieved, taking into account all international standards (EMV, PCI, ISO and Card Schemes). This is a concept that is SEPA- and PCI-DSS-compatible and is also widely recognized and used in Europe.

Organization Association TeCo ep2
The Association Technical Cooperation ep2 was founded on April 12, 2007. With this founding, the cooperation between the Swiss acquirers, terminal manufacturers and the Association of Electronic Payment Transactions, which has existed since 2003, received its legal form. [3] TeCo ep2 is a member-run organization and has different types of membership (members, acquirer licensees and manufacturers as well as observers). In 2023, the Association Technical Cooperation ep2 had the following 18 members:


 * Abrantix
 * boncard payment & services ag
 * CCC Business Service AG
 * Cembra Money Bank AG
 * Cornèr Bank AG, Bonuscard branch (Zurich)
 * Fiserv / First Data
 * Ingenico Suisse SA
 * MF Group AG
 * Nets Schweiz AG
 * PayTec
 * Payone Ltd
 * PostFinance – Swiss Post
 * Swiss travel fund Reka Genossenschaft
 * Swisscard – AECS ( Joint Venture of Credit Suisse and American Express )
 * Association for Electronic Payment Transactions (VEZ)
 * Worldline SA
 * Winarco AG
 * WIR Bank cooperative

and the following 4 acquirer licensees:

Furthermore, 25 companies as manufacturers use the ep2 specifications for the terminal software development or the development of ep2 peripheral systems. 8 companies are observers.
 * Agrola AG
 * Migros Bank AG
 * Innocard Loyalty Ltd
 * VR Payment GmbH


 * The Association Technical Cooperation ep2 (TeCo ep2) is the global specification body and Switzerland-wide certification body.
 * The ep2 Registration Authority (ep2 RA) is responsible for the ep2 specifications and their further development as well as the contact point for all topics relating to the ep2 standard.
 * The ep2 Certification Authority (ep2 CA) is responsible for the HW and SW certification as well as for the development and operation of the ep2 test system. Both tasks (ep2 RA and ep2 CA) are carried out by the company eftpos Engineering GmbH.
 * The members of the TeCo ep2 association work closely together in the ep2 working group and thus keep the ep2 specifications up to date with market requirements and technological developments. Strategic and financial issues are regulated in the TeCo ep2 board. The ep2 members are active in the payments industry either as acquirers of card transactions or manufacturers or suppliers of EFT/POS terminals or merchants with EFT/POS terminals.

History
In February 1996, PostFinance, Telekurs and the Association of Electronic Payment Transactions (VEZ) laid the foundation for cooperation in the development of the ep2 system generation. The ep2 project defined the future EFT/POS infrastructure for Switzerland. The aim was to standardize card payments, including all procedures, functions and interfaces, on the basis of international standards. From 1998 to 2002, the ep2 partners developed a comprehensive ep2 specification that is improved and further developed every year. Today, over 90% of the entire terminal population in Switzerland consists of ep2 devices. [3]

The most important milestones and phases of the ep2 standard:

Preparation of the ep2 main study and definition of the cooperation from 1996 to 1998 Detailed concept phase from 1998–2000 Project phase (specification V.1.0.0, implementation and piloting) from 2000 to 2003 Operating phase from June 2003 until today - includes 20 versions / releases from V.2.0.1 to V.8.1.0 (see ep2 life cycle) The Association Technical Cooperation ep2 (TeCo ep2) was founded on April 12, 2007, giving this successful cooperation an appropriate legal form

ep2 lifecycle
The ep2 standard has been established throughout Switzerland since 2003 and is constantly evolving. The needs of the stakeholders, such as cardholders and retailers, as well as the security requirements of the card schemes, were constantly taken into account. The complexity of operating and testing acquiring, PMS and service center systems has therefore increased in recent years. The association Technical Cooperation ep2 (TeCo ep2) introduced lifecycle management for the ep2 standard in 2013 and replaced it with the third generation of devices at the end of 2018. Now, on April 3, 2023, the fourth generation has been taken out of service.In addition to the improved security of the terminals, the cardholder benefits from various new functions. All ep2 versions, generations and dates are listed in the table below: The lifetime of a generation is about 10 years, which offers sufficient investment protection for all players in the ep2 environment.

The TeCo ep2 members enforce the lifecycle management by primarily the acquirers refusing authorizations for devices of the affected generation from the specified date.

International distribution of ep2
Worldwide distribution of the ep2 standard Worldwide distribution of the ep2 standard The ep2 standard is v. a. used by the company Worldline internationally in another 36 countries. The following map shows the worldwide distribution of ep2. In the countries marked in red, debit/credit card payments at the POS are now processed using the ep2 standard.

Weblinks

 * ep2 website https://www.ep2.ch/
 * List of EP2-enabled terminals registered in Switzerland| https://www.ep2.ch/certification-authority/
 * page of the VEZ | http://www.vez-epay.ch/members-organs/
 * Page eftpos Engineering GmbH | https://www.eftpos-engineering.ch