EMV has been a complete paradigm shift in the U.S. payments industry. The good news is that Shift4 is handling almost all of the changes to development so that you can quickly and easily support EMV.
Certifying for EMV with Shift4 requires P2PE PIN pads that are configured specifically for the Shift4 test environment. This requires a Shift4 P2PE test key and, if you plan to certify for debit, any U.S. debit key.
The Shift4 P2PE test key is different from the production key; these two types of keys cannot be interchanged.
The PIN pad(s) that you use for testing must be loaded with the required Shift4 test key by the device manufacturer or reseller before certification can begin.
In EMV processing with a UTG-controlled PIN pad, your application must populate the device.terminalId field with the API Terminal ID that you configured in UTG TuneUp in order to prompt the PIN pad.
In production, each UTG-controlled PIN pad can process EMV transactions for only a single MID.
To learn about the installation and usage of the UTG software, head to our Resource Library and check out the links under the heading "Universal Transaction Gateway (UTG)". Within the "UTG Installation and Configuration Guide" is a section titled "Adding a REST Interface".
For more information about EMV receipt requirements, please refer to the Printing Receipts section of this document.
Certifying for EMV with Shift4 using UTG-controlled devices does not require the use of chip cards because the UTG, which is already certified for EMV with the processors, controls the PIN pad and handles the chip card functionality.
In typical EMV processing, the consumer’s card must remain inserted into the PIN pad from the moment a transaction is totaled until an approval, decline, or referral response is returned from the card issuer. As a result, consumers have complained that transaction times are much slower with EMV chip cards than they are with magnetic stripe cards.
However, consumers can experience EMV transaction times that are comparable to those processed with magnetic stripe cards with quick chip EMV. Shift4 provides support for quick chip EMV with all of the major card brands, including Visa Quick Chip for EMV, Mastercard M/Chip Fast, Amex Quick Chip, and Discover Quick Chip.
Quick chip EMV allows the consumer to remove their EMV chip card before the transaction is sent online to the card issuer for authorization. This reduces the amount of time the card is required to remain in a terminal, giving consumers a perceived speed increase because they can put their card away earlier than they can with typical EMV processing.
If you are certified with Shift4 for EMV, you don’t need to make any changes to your interface to support this feature because quick chip functionality is completely handled by the UTG.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can enhance the EMV checkout experience with faster transaction times, see the Supporting Insert/Swipe Ahead for Faster Transactions at the POS section of this document.
Quick chip simply gives consumers a perceived speed increase as they are able to remove their card while the typical EMV authorization process flow occurs. However, interface designers can certify to support Insert/Swipe Ahead, which provides an actual speed increase to EMV transaction times. For more information, see the Supporting Insert/Swipe Ahead for Faster Transactions at the POS section of this document.
Insert/Swipe Ahead functionality allows swipe, insert, contactless, or manual payment card entry at the Point of Sale (POS) before the merchant has finished ringing up a transaction.
You can support Insert/Swipe Ahead functionality by sending an Initialize Readers request. This will prompt the consumer to enter their card information by displaying the Insert/Swipe (or Tap, if applicable) screen when the clerk begins scanning items.
A UTG-controlled PIN pad is required to support Insert/Swipe Ahead.
After an Initialize Readers request is made, if the consumer’s payment data is entered, the "Please wait for cashier" screen will display while the clerk continues to scan items.
Depending on your system or the merchant’s business practices, when the transaction has been totaled, you will send an Authorization or Sale/Purchase to send the transaction online for processing.
After sending an Initialize Readers, you can send Display Line Items requests to display details about the item(s) being purchased to the consumer. After the consumer’s card data has been entered and the Initialize Readers response is returned, the line items requests will be processed in the order received. Therefore, you may choose to wait until the Initialize Readers response is received to send Display Line Items requests, or you may send line items requests immediately following the Initialize Readers request.
Tip: If you send line items requests before the Initialize Readers response has been received, you should set a timer that is greater than the time currently remaining on the Initialize Readers request. This allows time for the UTG to receive and respond to line items requests after the Initialize Readers response has been received.
If a Initialize Readers request has been sent and a consumer’s payment card data has been entered, a Reset Device request can be sent to reset the PIN pad to idle if it hasn’t yet been sent online for processing. Reset Device may be helpful if there is a need to change the consumer’s payment method, such as if the consumer decides that they want to pay using a different payment card or cash.
In addition to Reset Device, the Initialize Readers data cache will also be cleared if another Initialize Readers request is sent or if the transaction is processed.
- The clerk has begun scanning items for purchase.
- The interface sends a Initialize Readers request to the UTG, causing the PIN pad to prompt the consumer to insert, swipe, or tap their payment card. If applicable, the payment card entry is followed by a prompt for PIN.
- The UTG begins processing the transaction and securely holds the data in cache. The transaction is not sent online for processing at this stage. If the card was inserted, the PIN pad prompts the consumer to remove their card.
- The PIN pad displays a “Please wait for the cashier” message on the PIN pad.
- The UTG sends the Initialize Readers response to the interface.
- The interface sends an authorization or sale request with the final transaction amount for processing.
- The PIN pad prompts the consumer to accept the total amount via the “Amount OK” screen.
- The PIN pad displays “Authorizing, please wait” while the authorization or sale request is sent for processing.
- A response indicating approval is returned, and the PIN pad prompts the consumer for signature, if applicable.
Tip: The “Amount OK” screen can be skipped if you send the BYPASSAMOUNTOK API Option or if the “Bypass Amount OK” option was selected in UTG TuneUp when configuring the PIN pad.