EMV Migration Forum to address ATM

The EMV Migration Forum, an independent cross-industry organization, was formed to address issues that require broad cooperation and coordination across the payments space in order to successfully introduce secure EMV contact and contactless technology in the United States. Forum membership has grown to 135 member organizations from the entire payments industry, including global payment brands, financial institutions, merchants, processors, acquirers, regional debit networks, industry suppliers and industry associations.

"The tremendous growth of our membership and their broad cross-industry participation in the working committees has allowed us to create new committees to address additional challenges that are critical to a successful move to EMV," said Randy Vanderhoof, director of the EMV Migration Forum. "Having committees dedicated to providing input, solutions and expertise to address challenges with ATM and card-not-present transactions will complement our other projects and allow even more individuals and organizations to have a voice in U.S. EMV migration."

The two new committees have quickly aligned around goals and initial projects. They join the Communications and Education, Debit, U.S. Coordination, and Certification and Testing Working Committees in carrying out the work and the vision of the Forum.

The goal of the ATM Working Committee is to create a more positive EMV migration experience for consumers. To achieve this, the committee will explore the challenges of EMV migration for the U.S. ATM industry, work to identify possible solutions to challenges, and facilitate the sharing of best practices with the various industry constituents.

The goal of the Card-Not-Present Fraud Working Committee is to create a comprehensive best practices strategy to mitigate card-not-present fraud in the new EMV chip card environment, using a balanced approach considering all key stakeholders - issuers, consumers, merchants, acquirers, networks and third parties.

The upcoming June meeting will update attendees on the progress being made by the working committees and include working sessions for attendees to explore in more detail the key challenges that the payments industry faces in moving to EMV. In addition, there will be several stakeholder updates and EMV educational sessions to provide members with the latest EMV information.

And so, the taekwondo black belt who has been participating in that sport as well as training in MMA since his age was in single digits is set for a bigger opportunity. Pegg (5-1) is now headlines Friday's Resurrection Fighting Alliance 8 card in Milwaukee against notable flyweight prospect Sergio Pettis (7-0).

Without much time, Pegg hurried this week to cut weight and prepare for a fight that he considers an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Instead, like many MMA fighters are forced to do, he stayed prepared for a chance that might or might not come, quickly took care of the short-notice fighting responsibilities and got to Wisconsin to get himself ready.

Fights are set up with little notice all the time, but not every spectator understands all the elements that are involved for a fighter. Aside from the weight cuts, there are physicals and blood work and other responsibilities.

He grew up in Ohio with a family that expanded when his parents divorced and then remarried, so he now has seven brothers and sisters. His parents recognized he was better at individual activities, so at 9 years old they got him involved in taekwondo.

The school, about 20 minutes away from his home, ended up being a perfect place for him to develop his skills, he said.

Because the instructor happened to be large and imposing at the same time, everyone listened, and Pegg stayed involved. He trained in taekwondo for about six years, but then he moved away from his training as he got into high school and found some other interests – and "got a little rowdy, kind of a party, crazy kid," he said.

He stayed away from martial arts for several years, in part because he didn't find competitions that interested him. Then he, like many others, found the interest in MMA exploding and wanted that kind of competition.

"In my first MMA class, I go in there thinking I'm this taekwondo black belt with a chip on my shoulder and that it's going to be no problem," he said. "Then I got my ass kicked. That first day, they took it to me."

That made for a steep learning curve, but it was one Pegg relished. He was balancing his training with his full-time work in construction, and he knew he wanted to fight.

Pegg compiled about 14 amateur fights by the time he became a professional in 2011, though he likes to say that those don't count the number of significant matchups he faced in his training. Using a philosophy that would come back full circle this week, he felt it wasn't more preparation that was needed, but experience.

"If you're ready to fight, then you're ready to fight," he said. "It doesn't matter how long you've been training or what you've been doing. You just have to be ready."

So, he stayed ready, compiling an impressive early record. It had been tough training for his most recent fight on June 7, so he was ready to take a break. Then he got the call from a teammate who said a slot had opened up on the RFA 8 card, and he wanted Pegg to take it.

His first reaction, admittedly, was "Aw, [expletive]." But it didn't take long, he said, for him to realize an opportunity like this was worth the second weight cut in a short time and the quick turnaround.

That's life in MMA. Because lineups can change quickly, it's even more important for fighters to stay sharp and be ready for a short-notice phone call. That's how Pegg is approaching his latest opportunity.

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