EMV Tag Reference
Tools/EMV Tag Reference/9F33
TerminalFormat: bLength: 3
9F33

Terminal Capabilities

Tag ID
9F33
Format
b
Length (bytes)
3
Source
Terminal

What it is

Terminal Capabilities is a 3-byte bitmap describing what the terminal can do: card data input methods (byte 1), cardholder verification methods (byte 2) and security/authentication methods (byte 3). CVMCardholder Verification MethodHow the cardholder is verified — for example offline PIN, online PIN, signature, or no CVM required.View in glossary → List processing and offline data authentication selection both depend on these bits.

Where it appears

Terminal configuration value; supplied to the card and used in CVMCardholder Verification MethodHow the cardholder is verified — for example offline PIN, online PIN, signature, or no CVM required.View in glossary →/authentication selection.

Specification reference

Defined in: EMV 4.x Book 4 (Cardholder, Attendant & Acquirer Interface), Annex A

Bit-level definitions below follow: EMV Book 4, Annex A — Terminal Capabilities (3 bytes)

Bit & value breakdown

EMV Book 4, Annex A — Terminal Capabilities (3 bytes)
Byte 1 — Card Data Input Capability
b8 = 0x80Manual key entry
b7 = 0x40Magnetic stripe
b6 = 0x20IC with contacts
b5–b1RFUReserved for Future UseBits or bytes with no current meaning, reserved by the spec; they must be set to zero. — must be 0
Byte 2 — CVM Capability
b8 = 0x80Plaintext PIN for ICCIntegrated Circuit CardThe chip embedded in the card — i.e. the EMV “chip” itself.View in glossary → verification (offline plaintext PIN)
b7 = 0x40Enciphered PIN for online verification (online PIN)
b6 = 0x20Signature (paper)
b5 = 0x10Enciphered PIN for offline verification (offline enciphered PIN)
b4 = 0x08No CVMCardholder Verification MethodHow the cardholder is verified — for example offline PIN, online PIN, signature, or no CVM required.View in glossary → required
b3–b1RFUReserved for Future UseBits or bytes with no current meaning, reserved by the spec; they must be set to zero. — must be 0
Byte 3 — Security Capability
b8 = 0x80SDAStatic Data AuthenticationOffline check where the terminal verifies a fixed issuer signature over static card data. It cannot prove the card is live, so it is vulnerable to cloning and replay.View in glossary → (Static Data Authentication)
b7 = 0x40DDADynamic Data AuthenticationOffline check where the card signs unique, per-transaction data with its own private key — proving the chip is genuine and not a clone.View in glossary → (Dynamic Data Authentication)
b6 = 0x20Card Capture
b5 = 0x10RFUReserved for Future UseBits or bytes with no current meaning, reserved by the spec; they must be set to zero. — must be 0
b4 = 0x08CDACombined DDA / Application Cryptogram generationThe strongest offline authentication: the card signs the dynamic data and the transaction cryptogram together in one step, preventing tamper (“wedge”) attacks.View in glossary → (Combined DDADynamic Data AuthenticationOffline check where the card signs unique, per-transaction data with its own private key — proving the chip is genuine and not a clone.View in glossary → / Application Cryptogram Generation)
b3–b1RFUReserved for Future UseBits or bytes with no current meaning, reserved by the spec; they must be set to zero. — must be 0

Example values

E0F8C8Manual/mag/IC input, full CVM set, SDA+DDA+CDA

Decode & build this tag

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Related tags

9F40Additional Terminal Capabilities9F35Terminal Type8ECVM List
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