Level 1 testing for EMVCo Reduced Range terminals — Bulletin No.276 and acceptance criteria scoring
EMVCo Reduced Range (RR) terminals are tested with the RR L1 Test Guidelines (v3.2a) in addition to the usual PCD L1 Analogue Test Cases (v3.2a). Terminal Type Approval Bulletin No.276, issued in April 2024, defines the acceptance criteria for RR devices.
Key points
- Testing an RR terminal takes two parts: PCD L1 Analogue Test Cases v3.2a and EMV RR L1 Test Guidelines v3.2a
- The acceptance criteria are defined in EMV Terminal Type Approval Bulletin No. 276 (First Edition, April 2024) — Reduced Range Devices Acceptance Criteria
- Verdicts are produced with an EMVCo qualified scoring tool based on Bulletin No.276, bundled with the KEOLABS RR suite
- Version mapping: PCD (terminal) v3.2a, PICC (card) v3.2b, mobile v3.2b
What a Reduced Range terminal is
Reduced Range (RR) is a terminal category whose operating range is smaller than the operating volume assumed for a standard EMVCo contactless terminal (PCD). Level 1 analogue testing of an RR terminal builds on the same EMVCo PCD Level 1 Analogue Test Cases (Version 3.2a) used for standard terminals, with the EMV RR L1 Test Guidelines (Version 3.2a) applied on top.
Reduced Range acceptance criteria and scoring
EMVCo has replaced the earlier pilot Contactless COTS Level 1 Type Approval programme with the Reduced Range (RR) Terminal Level 1 Test Guidelines. For mobile and enterprise devices with a shorter read range than conventional terminals, EMVCo defines minimum acceptance criteria and the RR approval process that supports them. Judging measurement results against those criteria uses scoring based on the EMVCo acceptance criteria. The KEOLABS Reduced Range Terminal Analogue test suite was the first solution to obtain qualification as EMVCo Reduced Range Terminal Analog, on 17 September 2024, and covers measurement through to the acceptance verdict in one flow.
Watch the version mapping
EMVCo Level 1 test case versions differ by device under test. Terminal-side (PCD) analogue and digital use Version 3.2a; card-side (PICC) analogue and digital use Version 3.2b; mobile devices combine PICC Analogue v3.2b with the EMV Mobile L1 Test Guidelines v3.2b. RR is terminal-side, so it belongs to the v3.2a family.
Points to note in the test setup
For terminal-side testing including RR, the standard setup uses EMVCo Test PICCs on the reference side (Class 1 and Class 3, three units tuned to different resonance frequencies), combined with a robot for position coverage within the operating volume — for example a six-axis machine able to meet the EMVCo acceleration constraint of more than 8 m/s².