Amadis unveils OLA payment processing standard

By Edlyn Cardoza

Amadis, a global payment software editor, recently announced OLA (Open Level 2 API), a standard that enables a standardised interface between EMV Level 2 stack and EMV Level 3 payment applications, independent of device, Operating System or geography. It precisely defines the interface between the EMV and Nexo domains. The open and universal attributes of OLA enable merchants and third-party providers to seamlessly add the L3 payment application on top of any EMV level 2 stack from any supplier, resulting in greater flexibility, lower costs, and accelerated production of large-scale payment applications.

OLA is an open API designed by Amadis that makes the entire payments ecosystem more effective by normalising card processing (L2) services required by payment applications (L3). OLA is a global initiative aiming to cover a missing key element in the payment ecosystem: the EMV Level 2 API. OLA is being evaluated by nexo, the global association dedicated to removing barriers in today’s fragmented global payment ecosystem.

“Before Amadis’ proposed OLA, there was no standard way for L2 and L3 to interact,” said Emmanuel Haydont, co-founder and CEO of Amadis. “The absence of a standard interface has resulted in a huge potential of variation, and possible customisation requirements when building out payment solutions. The OLA standard encourages innovation by eliminating technical dependencies, while helping merchants to drive down costs, and bring payment products to market faster.” Moving away from proprietary protocols to standardisation benefits all stakeholders in the payments ecosystem.

The OLA Interface facilitates developing applications and integrating them into a payment processor. With the influx of new digital, contactless, and tap-to-pay payment options, OLA enables a standardised, streamlined way for L2 and L3 applications to communicate. OLA enables a more adaptable payment architecture by providing a standard interface for an L3 Payment Application integration covering all needed POI services (L2 Kernel, Security services, OS services), greatly facilitating generic application developments supporting EMV payment terminals (POIs). Enabling OLA is an outcome of the Amadis vision to deliver universal payment acceptance technology and standards.