Tag Archives: SW1 SW2

Why is EMV card responding with error code 6985 to VERIFY command ?

When communicating with an EMV chip card, the card may reply to a command with error code SW1 SW2 = ’69 85′. In this post, we’ll analyze why this error code may be returned in response to the VERIFY command.

The VERIFY command “initiates in the ICC the comparison of the Transaction PIN Data sent in the data field of the command with the reference PIN data associated with the application”, as defined in EMV 4.3 book 3, section ‘6.5.12 VERIFY Command-Response APDUs‘. Status word ‘6985’ is defined as “Command not allowed” (“conditions of use not satisfied”), in EMV 4.3 book 3, section ‘6.3.5 Coding of the Status Bytes. This error code may be returned in several situations, here are a few common ones :

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