The association Technical Cooperation ep2 (TeCo ep2) has published the ep2 Specification Version 8.3.0.
In 2024, the ep2 working group treated 23 change requests. Of these, 1 CR was rejected, 20 were accepted and 2 are still open. The main specification priorities in 2024 were the specification extension for SoftPOS solutions, the extension and revision of the specification for visual impaired people (blind mode for PIN on Glass terminals) and several adjustments due to scheme requirements. Below you find an overview of the changes in V.8.3.0:
- CR 514 Blind mode corrections and text to speech adjustments based on initial feedback from testing & implementation
- 528 SoftPOS: The ep2 specification was extended for SoftPOS solutions and 4 new terminal classes were added.
- CR 536 Specification PIN Retry Counter: Display text specification as well as the transmission of the <Transaction Reference Number> in the <Batch Data Financial> container was specified.
- CR 538 <Terminal Subtype> Substitution: Due to scheme requirements, the <Terminal Subtype> info was insufficient and replaced by 4 new data elements: <Terminal Solution Type>, <Terminal Device Type>, <Terminal Class Type> and <Cash Register Integration Type>.
- CR 540 <Terminal Country Code>: Breaking change due to different interpretation of the schemes for the “Country Code” for Germany. Please note the TNL CR 540 <Terminal
- Country Code>, especially for PMS suppliers, who must be able to process the <Terminal Country Code> in Batch Data Financial containers from version 7.2.0 as of 30.04.25.
- CR 543 Cash Advance / Cashback Online Flag: The two flags <Cash Advance Online Flag> and <Cashback Online Flag> shall also be considered in the “Second Terminal Action Analysis”.
- CR 544 EMV Transaction Type Mapping: Breaking change due to Scheme-Incompliance on the behalf of ep2. Please note the TNL CR 544 EMV Transaction Mapping, especially for PMS suppliers, who must be able to process the <Transaction Type> in Batch Data Financial containers from version 7.2.0 as of 30.04.2025.
- CR 545 Tip Percentage Selection: Option for terminal suppliers which offers the cardholder a selection of percentage tip amounts for direct selection on the terminal display.
- CR 547 Form Factory Kernel 6 Diners: The ep2 specification supports the form factor indicator required by Diners from release 18.1 retroactively up to V.7.0.0 (please note TNL CR 547).
- CR 548 e-Commerce Coding extension of <Version 3D-Secure> to meet Mastercard requirements.
- CR 549 optional blind mode extensions for the tip entry process and the surcharge functionality have been specified
- CR 550 Modification of user interface and receipt printing for reservation transaction types and EV charging at unattended terminals. Particularly important for vending machine integrations.
- CR 551 Clarification of the existing communication types and definition of new communication types for the SCION-based communication network SEPN
- CR 552 Kernel C5 (JCB) Implementation obligation for terminal suppliers has been upgraded to mandatory. This will allow private label acquirers to use contactless technology at low cost.
- CR 554 Various adjustments for Kernel C4 (AMEX) to ensure the correct processing of C4 (AMEX) transactions.
- CR 555 Maximum RAF size increased from 2 GB to 4 GB
- CR 556 User interface optimizations for monoblock terminals as well as general user interface optimization for all terminals, whereby the display duration of OK and NOK messages can be parameterized differently.
- CR 557 Adjustments and complete revision of ep2 deferred transaction processing and the option to process the use “Process Deferred Authorisations” on PSP-systems (e-commerce).
- CR 558 Initial value for the <Transaction Sequence Counter> specified to prevent counter overflow as far as possible.
- CR 559 Parallelization of authorization and transmission/submission specified to ensure that the terminal is also available for transaction processing at high traffic times and that normal submissions can be processed in parallel in the background