In this page, you will find:

Introduction

Arkos is a software that eases and accelerates to build any payment acceptance system. Developing a payment application using our framework requires good software skills, basic EMV/payment expertises, and a good knowledge of the API to start.

See Acronyms, Terms, and Definitions for information about the terms common in the development of an EMVCo Level 3 application.

Open

Arkos is defined at a global level so that there is no hypothesis made on:

• The type of merchants using it,

• The type of platforms running it,

• The surrounding physical architectures, and the business/regulatory contexts (technologies, regions, security schemes, business processes, …)

Basically:

• Arkos is defined as a payment solution that can be deployed following different physical models (alias typologies) with a minimum of adaptations;

• The goal is to supply an appropriate product by reducing merchants’ costs and risks.

This section of the Wiki is meant to help technical teams to integrate, and to implement payment solutions using Arkos. It provides a global perspective of the framework.

Visit our Wiki pages to learn more about Arkos.

Why using Arkos?

The advantages of using the Arkos are:

• The system has already been certified in the past on different platforms

• The system is already deployed on the field in major markets

• The system is versatile and may be adapted to any EMVCo Level 3 contexts

• The system’s version that is purchased is maintained against the very last specs and frequent test plans

How it works?

The Wiki sections provide all the necessary information to understand how to use the Arkos framework.

• Acronyms, Terms and Definitions

• Overview

• Architecture Models

• Topology Models

• Integration Models

Evaluation Phase

Standard Project steps

Step 1: Qualification Phase

Platform qualification

The purpose of the platform qualification is to assess the use of the platform, and to identify any constraints or challenges that might arise at the course of the project. In average, between 8 and 12 weeks are required to port the software onto a new platform.

For each targeted platofrm, we would need:

• EMVCo Level 2 Letter-Of-Approval (LOA) to ensure the compliance of the payment kernels

• Platform Product Datasheet to validate the device technical characteristics

• SDK and SDK Documentation

• Payment devices

Processing Host qualification

The purpose of the processing host qualification is to assess the effort to support the processor’s requirements as well as to validate their compatibility with the standard card payment business processes between an acceptor and a processor.

For each targeted processor, we would need:

• Exchange Protocol Specifications

• Transport Protocol Specifications

• Security Specifications

Maintenance Host qualification (if applicable)

Note: Not this step is not required if the Terminal Manager System is compatible with Nexo TMS specifications.

The purpose of the Maintenance host qualification is to assess the effort to support the TMS’s requirements as well as to validate their compatibility with the standard maintenance and monitoring business processes between an acceptor and a TMS.

For each targeted processor, we would need:

• Exchange Protocol Specifications

• Transport Protocol Specifications

• Security Specifications (if applicable)

Sale System qualification (if applicable)

Note: Not this step is not required if the Sale System is compatible with Nexo Retailer specifications.

The purpose of the Sale System qualification is to assess the effort to support the Sale System’s requirements as well as to validate their compatibility with the standard sale business processes between a sale system and an acceptor.

For each targeted Sale System, we would need:

• Exchange Protocol Specifications

• Transport Protocol Specifications

Step 2: Project Execution

• Solution Requirements

• Development

Step 3: Project Acceptance

• User Acceptance Test

Step 4: Certification

There are three levels of testing requirements prior to deploy a standard payment terminal:

1. EMVCo Level 1 (L1) covers the physical, electrical and transport level interfaces of the hardware.

2. EMVCo Level 2 (L2) ensures the compliance of the payment kernel.

3. EMVCo Level 3 (L3) ensures that network specifications and acquirer requirements have been met.

Arkos Framework is part of the L3 Certification scope. Below is a non-exchaustive list of Terminal Integration Tests generally required by Card networks and processors.