A5

File Control Information (FCI) Proprietary Template

FCI Proprietary Template is where the issuer- or scheme-specific selection data actually lives, nested one level inside the outer FCI Template (6F) it's related to: the Processing Options Data Object List (9F38) the terminal will need for GPO, the Application Label, the Language Preference, and whatever discretionary data the issuer chose to add via the FCI Issuer Discretionary Data (BF0C, referenced alongside it) all arrive packaged inside A5 rather than loose at the top level of 6F. This nesting is deliberate: 6F carries only what every SELECT response must have (the DF Name), while A5 carries everything that varies by issuer, scheme, or application - separating the mandatory structural envelope from the variable content it wraps. A terminal that reads 6F correctly but mis-parses A5's own boundary will lose exactly the fields that vary most by card, which tends to surface as a specific application or issuer configuration behaving oddly rather than as a universal SELECT failure. See EMV Contactless Book C-2.

Interactive decoder

Paste a hex value for this tag to decode it in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere.

Nested TLV objects

  • 9F38primitive · 3 bytes

    9F1A02

This tag is not a bitmap; the decoder shows a format-based interpretation.

Decoded example

Example value: 9F38039F1A02

Nested TLV objects

  • 9F38primitive · 3 bytes

    9F1A02

Related tags

Properties

TagA5
NameFile Control Information (FCI) Proprietary Template
FormatBinary
Lengthvariable
SourceCard (ICC)
Templates6F
BooksEMV Contactless Book C-2

Frequently asked questions

What is EMV tag A5?
FCI Proprietary Template is where the issuer- or scheme-specific selection data actually lives, nested one level inside the outer FCI Template (6F) it's related to: the Processing Options Data Object List (9F38) the terminal will need for GPO, the Application Label, the Language Preference, and whatever discretionary data the issuer chose to add via the FCI Issuer Discretionary Data (BF0C, referenced alongside it) all arrive packaged inside A5 rather than loose at the top level of 6F. This nesting is deliberate: 6F carries only what every SELECT response must have (the DF Name), while A5 carries everything that varies by issuer, scheme, or application - separating the mandatory structural envelope from the variable content it wraps. A terminal that reads 6F correctly but mis-parses A5's own boundary will lose exactly the fields that vary most by card, which tends to surface as a specific application or issuer configuration behaving oddly rather than as a universal SELECT failure. See EMV Contactless Book C-2.
What format and length does EMV tag A5 use?
Tag A5 uses the Binary format and is normally variable long.
Is tag A5 provided by the card or the terminal?
Tag A5 (File Control Information (FCI) Proprietary Template) is provided by the Card (ICC).

Sources

  • C-2-Kernel-2-V2.11-Final-June-2023, p. 385

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