The Security of Card Payment Systems in a Post-Quantum World – October 2022

Quantum computers have the potential to break cryptographic schemes, such as Rivest–Shamir–Adleman (RSA) and Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC); these are used in EMV® card payment systems for offline authentication to a payment terminal, offline PIN encryption from the terminal to the card and secure channel communications.

With this in mind, and assuming that quantum computers will be available in the future, this document discusses the specific risks quantum computing poses for card payment systems and introduces Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) – a new field at the intersection of mathematics, quantum physics, and computer science.

It also provides some timeline predictions, together with recommendations on migration paths from RSA to ECC to PQC for offline payment use.