We handle application development, testing, acquirer coordination and approval support, so one engineering team takes you from requirements toward certification with your European acquirer or processor. Choose a full build, or managed certification for an application you already have.
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European EMV Level 3 projects usually start in one of four places.
Your application is certified at home and now needs a European acquirer, local schemes and local requirements. We scope what can be reused and what has to be built or retested.
You are building or replacing a payment application for European merchants and need it certified with the acquirers your customers use.
You ship hardware across several countries and need a payment application, or a certification for an existing one, on each acquirer you want to support.
You need certification capacity, a white-label option, or an integration built and taken through approval.
Processors do not all use the same stages, terminology, approval paths or prerequisites, so a certification with one does not cover another.
Certification is scoped by acquirer and country. A certification in one European market does not automatically carry over to another, though some work can be reused. The UK and EU markets are scoped separately.
Alongside the international card brands, many countries have their own domestic payment systems and debit networks. Which apply depends on the country, your acquirer and the cards you accept, and we include them in scoping from the first conversation.
EMVCo provides a Level 3 framework that lets domestic payment systems add their own test requirements to qualified test tools alongside the international schemes, to speed up terminal testing in local markets. Each payment system still defines its own plans and policies, and the international brands run their own programs, such as Mastercard's Terminal Integration Process (M-TIP), on top.
Terminals also need PCI PTS for PIN entry and EMVCo Level 1 and Level 2 approval, and acquirers can add their own requirements. New terminals may also have to meet CE marking and accessibility rules. We confirm which apply with your acquirer and hardware vendor.
In some markets, acquirers and their terminal suppliers already provide standard approved terminals, which reduces the work for merchants. For an ISV with its own application, the application itself still needs certification. We tell you honestly where this applies.
European deployments often need several languages on screens and receipts, and more than one currency. We confirm the requirement with your acquirer during scoping.
Most delays come from missing inputs, not missing code. Who supplies each item varies by project and is confirmed in the Statement of Work.
The right engagement depends on whether the payment application already exists and how much of the work your team wants to keep.
Foundry-supported delivery can apply to compatible engagements and is covered below. Compare the options in more depth on the EMV Level 3 hub page and in Managed EMV Certification vs. Full Payment Application Development.
Custom Development → Managed Certification →The stages below are a typical example for a full build. Your European processor may name or order them differently, and some of the work belongs to others.
Validate transaction flows, error handling, receipts and processor-specific requirements.
Exercise terminal-to-host messaging, reversals, settlement, timeouts and production-realistic flows.
Run the scheme and domestic network test suites internally before submission.
Manage submission through findings and final approval.
Findings and retesting. Reviewers may report findings. Application fixes follow, then retesting. Who makes the fixes depends on the engagement: Paying.co in a full build, and your team in managed certification unless agreed otherwise. Read the full EMV Level 3 certification process guide.
We do not publish a single timeline or price for Europe, because the factors below change both. After scoping, we quote against a defined scope. Understand the factors in the EMV certification cost and timeline guide, or get a self-serve estimate with Benchmark.
Foundry is our EMV Level 3 framework. The transaction lifecycle is built once, and processor-specific logic sits in thinner adapters. For compatible engagements it can reduce the development work, and recent engagements are showing time and cost savings of roughly 60 to 70%.
For a European acquirer, the adapter is built during scoping unless one already exists, and we confirm that in the first conversation. Whether Foundry applies, and what that means for your schedule or cost, depends on your processor, hardware and scope, and we confirm it during scoping.
Explore Foundry →The full overview: engagement options, scope, process and examples.
COUNTRYTSYS, Fiserv, Worldpay, Global Payments, Elavon, Chase and Heartland.
COUNTRYMoneris, Fiserv and Global Payments Canada, with Interac scoping.
COUNTRYSantander (Getnet México) and Evertec, with local scheme and installment scoping.
COUNTRYFiserv, Evertec and JPMorgan Chase, with ATH scoping.
TESTINGThe test tools and brand test cases, and who runs them.
GUIDE · PROCESSThe stages, owners and handoffs in more depth.
GUIDE · BUDGET AND SCHEDULEUnderstand EMV certification cost and timeline factors.
PROCESSORThe more we know up front, the more precisely we can scope it. Please include:
Tell us about your project — we route you to the right specialist.