What is it?

ICC Deck is an Integrated Circuit Card (ICC) simulation solution designed to provide test payment cards. It consists of an Android application and a card simulation server working together to simulate contactless cards. For contact cards, a physical probe is available.

Who is it for?

ICC Deck is intended for organizations involved in testing cashless payment devices and systems, including:

• In-person payment solution integrators
• Card-present payment software vendors
• Acquirers and processors
• Payment terminal vendors
• Retailers and transit operators
• PCI DSS QSAs

Why does it exist?

Existing solutions are often not well aligned with the needs of payment solution integrators and users. Until now, there have been two main types of test tools: physical test cards and specialized certification tools. Both have limitations.

Physical cards are limited in number, have fixed characteristics, may expire, and can be locked by invalid PIN entry. They are also easy to lose or misplace. Certification tools are expensive, not very portable, require more setup and operation, and their simulated cards often have limitations such as static counter values.

ICC Deck was created to address these limitations.

Why is it better in retail?

ICC Deck simulates cards tailored for rapid testing of the most important payment solution features:

• Online/offline processing
• Skipping response cryptogram verification for use with nearly any test host
• Cardholder verification support: online/offline PIN, signature, and no CVM

Profile customization also enables:

• Testing support for domestic, regional, and international cards by changing the card’s country of origin
• Testing support for dynamic currency conversion (DCC) by changing the card’s currency
• Testing support for BIN/IIN-specific features by changing the PAN

Why is it better in mass transit?

Mass transit presents its own set of challenges for test cards. ICC Deck helps by:

• Providing card profiles with dynamic counter (ATC) values
• Allowing card-number changes to avoid issues with deny-listed test cards after declines
• Simulating cards that pass ODA verification (CDA, fDDA)
• Allowing PAR manipulation by using several different card numbers with the same PAR

How does it work?

After logging in, users are shown a list of available card profiles. Once a profile is selected, customizations can be applied if needed. After starting card simulation, the user taps the phone on a contactless reader or inserts the probe into a smart card reader.

What it is not for

ICC Deck is not an EMV certification tool. It cannot be used to formally verify compliance with EMVCo Level 1/2 requirements or brand Level 2/3 requirements.