- Email: [email protected]
STS launches contactless payment system
events Peter Landrock, executive chairman and co-founder of Cryptomathic, commented: “The LuxTrust Project will become the first nationwide initiative, aimed at providing individuals with innovative trusted PKI services, to eliminate the cost associated with distributing smart cards and readers, by using a ‘virtual smart card’ solution.”
contactless payment
STS launches contactless payment system Smart Technology Solutions Limited (STS), a provider of smart card solutions, has announced the launch of its Touchlink contactless payment system. Touchlink is based on Emvelink, a plug-in for the company’s SmartNS framework, and offers all retailers and banks a versatile platform for the introduction of contactless payment schemes. The payment solution supports EMV (EuroPay, MasterCard, Visa) contactless systems – the global standard infrastructure behind chip and PIN – and can plug straight into existing chip & PIN systems.
Cameron Olsen, vice president of business development at STS told CTT CTT: “We have spoken to five or six large retailers and the positive response has taken us a bit by surprise. One of them said the business case does not exactly stack up compared with cash, but it was going to go ahead because of perceived customer demand for the technology. Another client said that the business case did stack up when it had done its cost analysis.” The technology has the ability to use inexpensive thin-client hardware readers and will initially support ViVOtech’s ViVOpay 5000 EMV contactless reader, with new hardware vendors supported by Christmas 2007. Olsen commented: “Touchlink, designed for high-volume, low-value transactions, is particularly suited to retail environments such as food outlets, newsagents, off licences, bars, pubs and parking facilities – all of which tend to have a high cash turnover and where rapid checkout times and convenience of payment are essential.” According to the company, Touchlink also caters for the introduction of further smart card applications in the future, such as contactless loyalty applications and gift card applications as they come to market.
Events Calendar 11–13 September 2007 Baltimore Convention Centre, Baltimore, USA
The Biometric Consortium Conference This is one of the largest shows in the biometric calendar and although there is a particular focus on US government activities, it does cover the full-range of biometric industry issues. It has a large exhibition alongside. Contact: J. Spargo and Associates, Tel: +1 703 631 6200, Web: www.biometrics.org
1–3 October 2007 Montreal, Canada
3rd MRTD and Biometrics Symposium 2007 ICAO’s third symposium and exhibition on ICAO Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), biometrics and security standards will be complemented by an exhibition focusing on products and services related to MRTDs, biometric identification, airport security biometric and border control inspection systems. Contact: ICAO, Web: www.icao.int/mrtd
8–11 October 2007 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
Cards Africa The smart card industry is experiencing tremendous growth in Africa. New and
Card Technology Today • June 2007
exciting opportunities lie ahead for the banking, retail and mobile commerce industries in terms of payments, transactions, and loyalty applications. This event charts the fortunes ahead and examines some of the challenges that the continent still faces. Contact: Brian Shabangu at Terrapinn. Tel: +27 11 463 6001, Fax: +27 11 463 6903, email: [email protected]
14–17 October 2007 Loews Coronado Bay Resort, San Diego, California, USA
ICMA Annual Expo This year’s event will feature a comprehensive program addressing management and technical matters, industry trends, personalisation and production issues as well as new applications. Contact: ICMA, Web: www.icma.com
17–19 October 2007 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK
Biometrics 2007
Organised by our sister publication, Biometric Technology Today, Biometrics 2007 is the event in the biometrics calendar. As usual, the event will feature all the hottest discussions from the biometrics industry, and will provide plenty of opportunity to discuss the major issues of the day. Contact: www.biometrics.elsevier.com
in brief • Nagpur, the third-largest city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, will be the latest location to use smart cards for registering vehicles. Initially, cards will be issued by Delhibased Shonk Technologies for private vehicles, two-wheelers and cars. Public transport and tourist vehicles may be added to the program at a later date. An estimated 200–250 vehicles are registered daily in the city, and the cards will store details of the vehicle sale, tax receipts and insurance details, and will also include a photo of the vehicle’s owner. • According to official sources NXP Semiconductors is pitching for a multi-million dollar order from the Indian government to supply chips for electronic passports. The government will undertake a pilot program to study the pros and cons of issuing e-passports with security features, including biometrics, in place of the existing passports in book format. Approximately 40 million passports are currently in use, and around 10 to 12 million are issued every year by the regional passport offices. The Indian subsidiary of NXP is already supplying its contactless smart cards to Delhi’s metro service for fare payment by commuters. • Following the success of the Oyster contactless smart card on the London Underground, some 40 of the most lightly used ticket offices at tube stations are set to close. Faster, cheaper, easier Oyster ticketing has led to a massive reduction in tickets sold at stations, heralding changes in the way some stations will be operated. With Oyster accounting for over 60% of all tube trips, there are currently nearly 2,500 Oyster ticket stops across London where customers can buy and top up their Oyster card, and this is expected to grow to over 3,500 locations by summer 2008. London Underground expects that use of Oyster will continue to rise, resulting in transactions at ticket office windows falling by a further 20% over the next two years. • Trusted Logic and Bantry Technologies have announced their merger, aimed at strengthening their positioning in the independent smart card operating system arena. The merger is the culmination of a long history of cooperation. After a four-year partnership which resulted in jTOP maxim, the jointly developed Java Card (U)SIM platform, the firms announced an exclusive commercial agreement last November. Patrick Trane will remain CEO of Bantry Technologies and is appointed executive vice president of the Trusted Logic Group, in charge of all marketing and sales activities. Bantry Technologies becomes part of the “Smart Cards and Secure Tokens” Business Unit of Trusted Logic. Dominique Bolignano becomes CEO of the Trusted Logic Group.
7
contactless payment
STS launches contactless payment system Smart Technology Solutions Limited (STS), a provider of smart card solutions, has announced the launch of its Touchlink contactless payment system. Touchlink is based on Emvelink, a plug-in for the company’s SmartNS framework, and offers all retailers and banks a versatile platform for the introduction of contactless payment schemes. The payment solution supports EMV (EuroPay, MasterCard, Visa) contactless systems – the global standard infrastructure behind chip and PIN – and can plug straight into existing chip & PIN systems.
Cameron Olsen, vice president of business development at STS told CTT CTT: “We have spoken to five or six large retailers and the positive response has taken us a bit by surprise. One of them said the business case does not exactly stack up compared with cash, but it was going to go ahead because of perceived customer demand for the technology. Another client said that the business case did stack up when it had done its cost analysis.” The technology has the ability to use inexpensive thin-client hardware readers and will initially support ViVOtech’s ViVOpay 5000 EMV contactless reader, with new hardware vendors supported by Christmas 2007. Olsen commented: “Touchlink, designed for high-volume, low-value transactions, is particularly suited to retail environments such as food outlets, newsagents, off licences, bars, pubs and parking facilities – all of which tend to have a high cash turnover and where rapid checkout times and convenience of payment are essential.” According to the company, Touchlink also caters for the introduction of further smart card applications in the future, such as contactless loyalty applications and gift card applications as they come to market.
Events Calendar 11–13 September 2007 Baltimore Convention Centre, Baltimore, USA
The Biometric Consortium Conference This is one of the largest shows in the biometric calendar and although there is a particular focus on US government activities, it does cover the full-range of biometric industry issues. It has a large exhibition alongside. Contact: J. Spargo and Associates, Tel: +1 703 631 6200, Web: www.biometrics.org
1–3 October 2007 Montreal, Canada
3rd MRTD and Biometrics Symposium 2007 ICAO’s third symposium and exhibition on ICAO Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), biometrics and security standards will be complemented by an exhibition focusing on products and services related to MRTDs, biometric identification, airport security biometric and border control inspection systems. Contact: ICAO, Web: www.icao.int/mrtd
8–11 October 2007 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa
Cards Africa The smart card industry is experiencing tremendous growth in Africa. New and
Card Technology Today • June 2007
exciting opportunities lie ahead for the banking, retail and mobile commerce industries in terms of payments, transactions, and loyalty applications. This event charts the fortunes ahead and examines some of the challenges that the continent still faces. Contact: Brian Shabangu at Terrapinn. Tel: +27 11 463 6001, Fax: +27 11 463 6903, email: [email protected]
14–17 October 2007 Loews Coronado Bay Resort, San Diego, California, USA
ICMA Annual Expo This year’s event will feature a comprehensive program addressing management and technical matters, industry trends, personalisation and production issues as well as new applications. Contact: ICMA, Web: www.icma.com
17–19 October 2007 Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London, UK
Biometrics 2007
Organised by our sister publication, Biometric Technology Today, Biometrics 2007 is the event in the biometrics calendar. As usual, the event will feature all the hottest discussions from the biometrics industry, and will provide plenty of opportunity to discuss the major issues of the day. Contact: www.biometrics.elsevier.com
in brief • Nagpur, the third-largest city in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, will be the latest location to use smart cards for registering vehicles. Initially, cards will be issued by Delhibased Shonk Technologies for private vehicles, two-wheelers and cars. Public transport and tourist vehicles may be added to the program at a later date. An estimated 200–250 vehicles are registered daily in the city, and the cards will store details of the vehicle sale, tax receipts and insurance details, and will also include a photo of the vehicle’s owner. • According to official sources NXP Semiconductors is pitching for a multi-million dollar order from the Indian government to supply chips for electronic passports. The government will undertake a pilot program to study the pros and cons of issuing e-passports with security features, including biometrics, in place of the existing passports in book format. Approximately 40 million passports are currently in use, and around 10 to 12 million are issued every year by the regional passport offices. The Indian subsidiary of NXP is already supplying its contactless smart cards to Delhi’s metro service for fare payment by commuters. • Following the success of the Oyster contactless smart card on the London Underground, some 40 of the most lightly used ticket offices at tube stations are set to close. Faster, cheaper, easier Oyster ticketing has led to a massive reduction in tickets sold at stations, heralding changes in the way some stations will be operated. With Oyster accounting for over 60% of all tube trips, there are currently nearly 2,500 Oyster ticket stops across London where customers can buy and top up their Oyster card, and this is expected to grow to over 3,500 locations by summer 2008. London Underground expects that use of Oyster will continue to rise, resulting in transactions at ticket office windows falling by a further 20% over the next two years. • Trusted Logic and Bantry Technologies have announced their merger, aimed at strengthening their positioning in the independent smart card operating system arena. The merger is the culmination of a long history of cooperation. After a four-year partnership which resulted in jTOP maxim, the jointly developed Java Card (U)SIM platform, the firms announced an exclusive commercial agreement last November. Patrick Trane will remain CEO of Bantry Technologies and is appointed executive vice president of the Trusted Logic Group, in charge of all marketing and sales activities. Bantry Technologies becomes part of the “Smart Cards and Secure Tokens” Business Unit of Trusted Logic. Dominique Bolignano becomes CEO of the Trusted Logic Group.
7