PCI Council Introduces New Standard for Mobile Card Payments

Responding to the market's growing interest in, and use of, mobile payments, the PCI Security Standards Council (PCI SSC) has announced a new standard for software-based PIN entry on commercial off-the-shelf devices (COTS); such as smartphones and tablets. "Mobile point-of-sale (MPOS) solutions have become very popular with smaller merchants for their flexibility and efficiency," explained said Aite Group senior analyst Ron van Wezel. "MPOS has enabled them to take orders and accept payments on a tablet or smartphone, anytime and anywhere." The problem is the cost of hardware-based chip-and-pin can be prohibitive for small merchants in mobile situations.