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Full scale roll-out of TaiwanMoney card
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in brief • Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has met the quality criteria of Microsoft’s Ireland-based Smart Card Certification Center for Windows Vista with its StarSign IT security solution products. StarSign products can be used in solutions calling for secure authentication, data encryption and digital signatures, as well as single sign-on and hard disk encryption. The Smart Card Certification Center has been working with early adopters of the Windows Smart Card Framework to develop a certification program that balances the needs of both Microsoft and IHVs. The result of this cooperation will be a certification program that will award “Designed for Windows” logos for card minidrivers and smart cards that meet the Windows Vista logo program requirements for smart card minidrivers. • Infineon Technologies has announced that it is the sole chip supplier for Europe’s largest nationwide electronic identity card scheme, the Belgian Personal Identity Card (BelPIC). BelPIC is a multi-application smart card used for personal identification at home and abroad with an electronic signature authentication that is used by eGovernment services, for address change, civil record, birth certificate, tax return, and private use internet services. The card incorporates Infineon’s contact-based smart card controller SLE 66CX322P, which is certified according to Common Criteria “EAL 5+ high” certification based on the latest BSI-PP-0002 protection profile. Belgium began issuing the ID cards in 2005 to all citizens 12 years of age or older. Infineon has already delivered more than 5 million smart card microcontrollers to BelPIC. • VeriFone has reported its financial results for the three months ended April 2007. Net revenues for this period were US$217.2 million, 53% higher than the net revenues of US$142.2 million for the comparable period of 2006. VeriFone’s international business increased 97% and VeriFone’s North America business increased 19%. This significant increase in sales has been attributed largely to the acquisition of Lipman in November 2006. Company highlights for this quarter include the completion of a successful pilot with American Express for its Vx 670 Pay at the Table solution in Mexico and the continuation of its Tesco contract in the UK. • The François-Charles Oberthur Group has announced the transfer of the scratch cards activity of its subsidiary François-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire to its subsidiary Oberthur Card Systems. Following the recent sale of instant lottery activities and with the aim of capitalizing on a growing market, the group decided to house all mobile operators dedicated businesses within Oberthur Card Systems.
4
Gemalto announces a restructuring project in France Following a torrid year in terms of falling profits and low SIM prices, French smart card manufacturer has announced a restructuring project in France which will lead to the closure of its manufacturing facility in Orléans by the second half of 2008. This project follows an overall cost reduction program that the company has been pursuing on a worldwide basis, notably in China, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Russia. The net impact of the project would involve 409 positions being axed, including 362 positions in the Orléans facility. The company employs close to 3,500 people in France.
contactless payment
Full scale roll-out of TaiwanMoney card MasterCard Worldwide, together with the Kaohsiung City Government in Taiwan, has announced the full-scale launch of the Kaohsiung City Government (KCG) transportation payment solution, otherwise known as the TaiwanMoney Card. The card is the world’s first MasterCard OneSmart PayPass Chip Combi Card, and allows cardholders to make contactless payments at over 51,000 merchant locations worldwide. The pilot launch of the system, which includes MasterCard’s PayPass solution, was on 19 October 2005 (see box below). The card was used in seven cities and ‘magistrates’ (districts) in southern Taiwan, where among other things it has been predominantly used by commuters to pay for transportation. According to a Kaohsiung City Government transaction report, the TaiwanMoney Card recorded substantial increases in the number of transactions within the first quarter of this year when compared the last quarter of 2006.
The company said that the restructuring project in France aims to lessen the central industrial costs and rationalize the manufacturing centres while making them more specialized. In order to optimize Gemalto’s industrial capacity, the PontAudemer (Normandy) site would manage the production of SIM cards for Western Europe, while Gémenos would gather all the industrialization and the embedding activities for French banking cards. The move does not involve the R&D in Meudon and La Ciotat, nor the personalization centre in Tours. Analysts have blamed the situation on the falling price of SIM cards, which fell by about 30% last year. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus. Contact: Remi Calvet at Gemalto, Tel: +33 6 22 72 81 58, Email: [email protected]
“On behalf of seven cities and magistrates in southern Taiwan, Kaohsiung City is pleased to be the official project owner of this internationally recognized transportation project,” said Cheng Wenlung, deputy mayor of Kaohsiung City Government. “As we gear up for the 2009 World Games, we are delighted to have the payments system in place, in order to provide local and international MasterCard cardholders with the ease and convenience of the payments system.” Shuan Ghaidan, head of product sales and delivery, Asia/Pacific, MasterCard Worldwide commented: “Taiwan has been at the forefront in the development of contactless payment solutions in Asia/Pacific. Since the introduction of the program in 2005, we have introduced the world’s first contactless 3D key chain and watch equipped with MasterCard PayPass. More recently we announced the launch of the MasterCard PayPass for mobile phones, which leveraged Near Field Communication (NFC) and Over-The-Air (OTA) technology.” As of Q1 2007, there are over 14 million MasterCard PayPass cards and devices in use at over 51,000 merchants worldwide, including new acceptance environments such as vending, taxis, tollbooths, and transit.
Evolution of the TaiwanMoney Card January 2005
Initial TaiwanMoney Card project announcement
October 2005
Launch of TaiwanMoney Card pilot program & issuance of commemorative cards
November 2005 Won 2005 SESAMES Award for Best Transportation Application July 2006
Launch of Kaohsiung City Chi-Jin Ferry Citizens card
July 2006
Top-up card launch
June 2007
Full-scale roll-out of the TaiwanMoney Card
Card Technology Today • June 2007
in brief • Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) has met the quality criteria of Microsoft’s Ireland-based Smart Card Certification Center for Windows Vista with its StarSign IT security solution products. StarSign products can be used in solutions calling for secure authentication, data encryption and digital signatures, as well as single sign-on and hard disk encryption. The Smart Card Certification Center has been working with early adopters of the Windows Smart Card Framework to develop a certification program that balances the needs of both Microsoft and IHVs. The result of this cooperation will be a certification program that will award “Designed for Windows” logos for card minidrivers and smart cards that meet the Windows Vista logo program requirements for smart card minidrivers. • Infineon Technologies has announced that it is the sole chip supplier for Europe’s largest nationwide electronic identity card scheme, the Belgian Personal Identity Card (BelPIC). BelPIC is a multi-application smart card used for personal identification at home and abroad with an electronic signature authentication that is used by eGovernment services, for address change, civil record, birth certificate, tax return, and private use internet services. The card incorporates Infineon’s contact-based smart card controller SLE 66CX322P, which is certified according to Common Criteria “EAL 5+ high” certification based on the latest BSI-PP-0002 protection profile. Belgium began issuing the ID cards in 2005 to all citizens 12 years of age or older. Infineon has already delivered more than 5 million smart card microcontrollers to BelPIC. • VeriFone has reported its financial results for the three months ended April 2007. Net revenues for this period were US$217.2 million, 53% higher than the net revenues of US$142.2 million for the comparable period of 2006. VeriFone’s international business increased 97% and VeriFone’s North America business increased 19%. This significant increase in sales has been attributed largely to the acquisition of Lipman in November 2006. Company highlights for this quarter include the completion of a successful pilot with American Express for its Vx 670 Pay at the Table solution in Mexico and the continuation of its Tesco contract in the UK. • The François-Charles Oberthur Group has announced the transfer of the scratch cards activity of its subsidiary François-Charles Oberthur Fiduciaire to its subsidiary Oberthur Card Systems. Following the recent sale of instant lottery activities and with the aim of capitalizing on a growing market, the group decided to house all mobile operators dedicated businesses within Oberthur Card Systems.
4
Gemalto announces a restructuring project in France Following a torrid year in terms of falling profits and low SIM prices, French smart card manufacturer has announced a restructuring project in France which will lead to the closure of its manufacturing facility in Orléans by the second half of 2008. This project follows an overall cost reduction program that the company has been pursuing on a worldwide basis, notably in China, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Russia. The net impact of the project would involve 409 positions being axed, including 362 positions in the Orléans facility. The company employs close to 3,500 people in France.
contactless payment
Full scale roll-out of TaiwanMoney card MasterCard Worldwide, together with the Kaohsiung City Government in Taiwan, has announced the full-scale launch of the Kaohsiung City Government (KCG) transportation payment solution, otherwise known as the TaiwanMoney Card. The card is the world’s first MasterCard OneSmart PayPass Chip Combi Card, and allows cardholders to make contactless payments at over 51,000 merchant locations worldwide. The pilot launch of the system, which includes MasterCard’s PayPass solution, was on 19 October 2005 (see box below). The card was used in seven cities and ‘magistrates’ (districts) in southern Taiwan, where among other things it has been predominantly used by commuters to pay for transportation. According to a Kaohsiung City Government transaction report, the TaiwanMoney Card recorded substantial increases in the number of transactions within the first quarter of this year when compared the last quarter of 2006.
The company said that the restructuring project in France aims to lessen the central industrial costs and rationalize the manufacturing centres while making them more specialized. In order to optimize Gemalto’s industrial capacity, the PontAudemer (Normandy) site would manage the production of SIM cards for Western Europe, while Gémenos would gather all the industrialization and the embedding activities for French banking cards. The move does not involve the R&D in Meudon and La Ciotat, nor the personalization centre in Tours. Analysts have blamed the situation on the falling price of SIM cards, which fell by about 30% last year. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus. Contact: Remi Calvet at Gemalto, Tel: +33 6 22 72 81 58, Email: [email protected]
“On behalf of seven cities and magistrates in southern Taiwan, Kaohsiung City is pleased to be the official project owner of this internationally recognized transportation project,” said Cheng Wenlung, deputy mayor of Kaohsiung City Government. “As we gear up for the 2009 World Games, we are delighted to have the payments system in place, in order to provide local and international MasterCard cardholders with the ease and convenience of the payments system.” Shuan Ghaidan, head of product sales and delivery, Asia/Pacific, MasterCard Worldwide commented: “Taiwan has been at the forefront in the development of contactless payment solutions in Asia/Pacific. Since the introduction of the program in 2005, we have introduced the world’s first contactless 3D key chain and watch equipped with MasterCard PayPass. More recently we announced the launch of the MasterCard PayPass for mobile phones, which leveraged Near Field Communication (NFC) and Over-The-Air (OTA) technology.” As of Q1 2007, there are over 14 million MasterCard PayPass cards and devices in use at over 51,000 merchants worldwide, including new acceptance environments such as vending, taxis, tollbooths, and transit.
Evolution of the TaiwanMoney Card January 2005
Initial TaiwanMoney Card project announcement
October 2005
Launch of TaiwanMoney Card pilot program & issuance of commemorative cards
November 2005 Won 2005 SESAMES Award for Best Transportation Application July 2006
Launch of Kaohsiung City Chi-Jin Ferry Citizens card
July 2006
Top-up card launch
June 2007
Full-scale roll-out of the TaiwanMoney Card
Card Technology Today • June 2007