As a provider of ready-to-certify Level 2 kernels, we have firsthand experience of the challenges you face with EMV and contactless kernel certification. We have collaborated with many certification labs and understand the issues you may encounter on the lab side as well.

EMV L2 contactless kernel certification is one of the most technically demanding stages in bringing a payment terminal to market. The margin for error is narrow, and the test coverage is extensive.

What are these challenges that we are talking about?

Let me list them for you:

To ensure Level 2 kernel certification, you must perform hundreds of tests, and even the slightest error can result in certification failure, leading to high cost and time overruns. So, most vendors go through a few rounds of debugging before opting for certification. You can opt for debug sessions with the certification labs, but the downside is that they add to the cost and timelines.

The other option for debugging is to go with an experienced third-party vendor. It adds to your certification cost as well, but not as much as using a certification lab for debugging would.

Often, certification failures result from misinterpretation by certification labs. It is necessary to have an EMV expert in constant communication with the lab to understand the cause of the failure. We have encountered multiple situations like this, and after detailed discussions with the lab, we have ruled out the causes of the failure and ensured certification.

With contactless kernels, you need to factor in additional test scenarios, like performance tests. Contactless kernel testing EMV is not limited to functional validation. While your kernel may fulfill the functional needs, a slight performance issue will cause the certification to fail. You have to factor in performance at the beginning of the implementation and address its problems. Teams that leave performance testing to the final stages of development consistently find themselves going back to fix issues that would have been far cheaper to catch earlier.

NFC kernel EMV certification adds another layer of complexity that contact kernel certification does not require. Timing, field strength, and protocol sequencing must all behave correctly under the conditions defined by each payment network. A kernel that passes functional tests but fails in performance or timing will not clear certification, regardless of how sound the underlying logic is.

Many different certification configurations are defined in the ICS (Information Conformance Statement). Choosing the appropriate certification configuration is critical because the certification you receive applies only to that configuration. If you get this wrong, you will have to go through recertification. Some of the crucial decision points are:

• Do you want to have a Discover certification with or without the data storage and extended logging feature?
• Decide if you wish to have an FDDA option for Visa certification.
• Decide whether you want Mastercard certification with or without PayPass Magstripe transactions.

Getting these configuration decisions right before entering the lab is one of the most impactful things a vendor can do to protect their certification timeline. Recertification due to an incorrect ICS selection is entirely avoidable, yet it remains one of the more common reasons vendors lose weeks in their schedules.

EMV Level 2 kernel compliance also requires vendors to stay current with network specification updates. Contactless payment kernel testing against an outdated spec version is a recurring source of lab failures that could have been identified during pre-certification preparation. Each network publishes updates on its own cycle, and keeping track of which version applies to your current certification scope is an ongoing responsibility rather than a one-time check.

We have encountered most of these challenges when we help terminal vendors and manufacturers through Level 2 kernel certification. We have encountered these situations while guiding terminal vendors through their certification needs by coordinating with the labs.

With all this knowledge, we wanted to make it simple for terminal vendors and manufacturers, so we developed an on-demand tool called Mantle. Mantle would assist the vendors and manufacturers in reducing the cost and timeline for debugging and certification.

Mantle, the on-demand automated test solution for your Level 2 certification

Mantle kernel certification support begins in development and extends through lab submission, meaning vendors arrive at the lab having already addressed the issues that most commonly cause failures. It would help you save time, reduce costs, and minimize frustration during development and certification in the labs. Mantle is available right from development through certification for unit testing and debugging. You have to approach certified labs only for certification, and you will likely receive it in the first iteration.

Mantle features

Mantle is a fully automated card simulator with an in-built analysis engine, which can be extended to suit your test case and plan. The real-time analyzer provides test results immediately and gives you pointers in the logs to debug.

Mantle works with the system under test, whether POS, ATM, SoftPOS, mPOS, or mobile terminal, through a probe or TCP/IP sockets to connect. The Python editor of Mantle works directly with the card simulator and analyzer engine.

Mantle comes with a Python-based scripting engine, allowing testers to write simple scripts to automate Level 2 kernel testing. Testers and developers can also write their own test cases using Python.

It has an inbuilt reporting engine and batch test automation to expedite the tests. It has inbuilt waiver conditions for issuing the letter of approval. It is a multi-user, multi-network tool that several vendors can use simultaneously to test their kernels across various networks.

Complex kernel functionalities such as Cryptograms, PDOL, Bit/byte calculations, BER-TLV, SDA, DDA, CDA, and offline PIN are offered as built-in libraries to make the lives of testers and developers easier.

For vendors conducting contactless payment kernel testing across multiple networks simultaneously, Mantle eliminates the need to manage separate tools or test environments for each network. The multi-network architecture enables Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and other network test scenarios to be run on the same platform, reducing the overhead of managing parallel test cycles.

With Mantle, you, as a terminal vendor or manufacturer, can save tens of thousands of dollars in debugging and certification costs. Add to this the amount of time you would save in your certification efforts.

Ping us at info[at]payhuddle.com, and we shall be happy to help you with anything related to kernel certification. There are no strings attached.