ICC Solutions Limited and Q-Card have signed a strategic agreement recently. The new partnership will help drive the U.S. payment industry’s migration to the more secure EMV Chip and PIN payment standard in the USA.

The addition of Q-Card to ICC Solutions’ U.S. sales, marketing and support infrastructure in the USA is a major opportunity for both organizations. It is also part of an ongoing program by ICC Solutions, a recent award recipient of the U.K.’s prestigious Queen’s Awards for International Trade and Innovation, to quickly expand the company’s U.S. operations to support the U.S. payment industry migration to the new EMV chip card. Earlier this month, ICC Solutions announced the opening of a new U.S. HQ in Atlanta, Georgia. For Q-Card, the new partnership expands its leadership in payments by supporting the growth of Q-Card’s emerging payments technology business group, which includes the development of new EMV based contact, contactless and Mobile NFC payment solutions.

The USA is the last of the G20 nations to adopt the new payment chip payment standard, which reduces card fraud, and provides a more secure and rewarding shopping experience for U.S. consumers. Both VISA and MasterCard have mandated EMV compliance beginning in 2013.

Founded in 1996, British-based ICC Solutions is currently the only company in the world capable of offering fully qualified test scripts for American Express AEIPS, Discover D-PAS, INTERAC Contact & Flash; M-TIP, PayPass & NIV for MasterCard; Visa ADVT & ADVT qVSDC Device Module in addition to EMV Level 2 and EMV Entry Point Type Approval test suites. This will be key as the U.S. develops a successful EMV payment infrastructure to meet the VISA and MasterCard mandates.

“Q-Card is a world-class organization long renowned for providing top quality test products, equipment and services to the marketplace,” noted David Maisey, Chief Executive Officer, ICC Solutions Limited. “We are excited about the new agreement with Q-Card, which will further expand our footprint in the USA and help us help our customers migrate seamlessly to EMV.”

“Q-Card is truly enthusiastic about the opportunity to represent ICC Solutions and its test solutions. ICC Solutions has a solid foundation in the EMV arena, which will greatly boost Q- Card’s capabilities and opportunities here in the U.S. as we migrate to EMV,” commented Jeff Myers, Director of Sales and Marketing at Q-Card. “This is a strategic alliance that we have been developing for some time now and we feel this agreement puts Q-Card, and ICC Solutions in a great position for future growth.”