What does EMV stand for in chip card technology?

EMV stands for Europay, Mastercard, and Visa in chip card technology.

The name comes from the three payment companies that jointly developed the original specifications for smart payment cards. Europay was later absorbed into Mastercard, but the EMV acronym remained. Today, EMV refers to a broad technical standard for chip cards, payment terminals, and automated teller machines.

Unlike a traditional magnetic stripe, an EMV chip can perform cryptographic operations during a transaction. The chip and the payment terminal exchange data to authenticate the card and help prevent criminals from simply copying the static information stored on a magnetic stripe. EMV cards may use chip-and-PIN, chip-and-signature, or contactless verification methods.

The standard first emerged in the 1990s and is now managed by EMVCo. Its membership has expanded beyond the original three companies to include payment organizations such as American Express, Discover, JCB, and China UnionPay. Thus, the acronym preserves the history of the standard even though its governing consortium is now much broader.