Developing a contactless payment terminal for Visa payWave and Mastercard PayPass cards has become quicker and easier with the launch of an EMV pre-certified reference design by ams.
The reference design, developed in collaboration with smartcard software vendor Alcineo, implements all the functions of a contactless payment terminal, from the 13,56 MHz RFID interface to the transaction protocols specified by Visa and Mastercard. It is available immediately to manufacturers of payment terminals, vending machines, ticketing machines, laptops/tablets and other payment equipment.
The design provides a complete production-ready blueprint. It includes the RF front end; communications protocol stacks and transaction software; a 3-inch LCD display from Kyocera with an edge-mounted antenna; SAM module; keypad; 5 V power supply; and plastic housing.
The design is available for evaluation by OEMs as a demonstration kit. It includes Gerber design files and schematics, a bill of materials, Level 1 and Level 2 demonstration software libraries and mechanical specifications.
Security and card compatibility are critical requirements of contactless card payment terminals and the EMV standard for Visa (payWave) and Mastercard (PayPass) systems is both complex and rigorous. It governs both the RF communications interface for connecting to a card in close proximity to a terminal’s display screen, and the communication layers for verifying and authorising transactions.
The ams/Alcineo reference design comes pre-certified for EMV compliance based on the 2.1a test specification. This means it is guaranteed to comply with the EMV standard when implemented as supplied. OEMs can therefore use it to reach the market quickly with an EMV-compliant design.
The reference design is streamlined and cost-effective, using the highly integrated AS3911 NFC initiator/reader chip. This chip offers a high 1 W RF power output, so no additional booster circuitry is required to achieve reliable communication with payment cards.
The Alcineo CL1 layer is a compact but fully-featured communication stack, implementing the digital element of the EMV contactless communication protocol. The library has been tested and is ready for EMV terminal test approval at Level 1. Alcineo’s EMV CL2 kernel is a modular payment solution that suits the EMV contactless payments architecture perfectly and fully supports payWave and PayPass.
Valuable features in the ams/Alcineo reference design can help OEMs to meet customer requirements more effectively. A capacitive and inductive wake-up capability enables the terminal to be switched into a power-saving sleep mode when not processing a transaction.
The design also offers an automatic antenna tuning (AAT) feature, so that the antenna does not need to be manually trimmed on the production line; and by offering unique automatic modulation depth adjustment, the terminal supports both the A and B variants of the ISO14443 standard.
For more information contact Gary de Klerk, NuVision Electronics, +27 (0)11 608 0144, [email protected], www.nuvisionelec.co.za
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