Free Β· Reference Β· ~7 min read Β· Updated 2026-08-01
EMV Glossary: ARQC, TVR, AIP, CVM & Friends
Chip transactions (DE55) are a wall of acronyms. Here are the most common EMV concepts in one line each, with their TLV tags, for looking up while you decode.
Cryptograms & authentication
Term
Tag
One-line meaning
ARQC
9F26
Authorization Request Cryptogram β dynamic cryptogram the card computes for the issuer to verify online
TC
9F26
Transaction Certificate β cryptogram generated when the transaction is approved
AAC
9F26
Application Authentication Cryptogram β generated when the transaction is declined
Application Transaction Counter β increments per transaction, makes cryptograms unique
Application & identifiers
Term
Tag
One-line meaning
AID
4F/9F06
Application Identifier β identifies the selected payment application
PAN
5A
Primary Account Number β the card number
SDA/DDA/CDA
β
Three offline data authentication methods (static/dynamic/combined) β anti-counterfeit
GAC
β
Generate AC β the command asking the card to produce a cryptogram
π Want to see these tags in a real message? Paste a message with DE55 into the parser tool β it decodes each tag and bit-decodes TVR/AIP/CID/CVM. Deep dive: EMV chip & DE55.