Adoption will happen, according to stakeholders, but may require a ‘bold first move’

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., July 17, 2008–Eighty-six percent of industry stakeholders believe NFC-based proximity payments will be adopted, and it will happen with a “Collaboration Model,” bringing together banks, mobile operators, merchants, handset manufacturers and other service providers, says a new research report from the Smart Card Alliance Contactless Payments Council.

VeriFone and Partners Share Prestigious Award for UK’s First Retail Contactless Installation at Sandwich Retailer EAT

LONDON, UK, July 17 2008–VeriFone Holdings Inc. (NYSE: PAY) today announced that its contactless payment solution was honoured at the recent European Retail Solutions Awards (ERSA) 2008.The Payment Solution Award cited the installation of the first fully-integrated contactless payment system within a UK retail environment and was jointly awarded to sandwich retailer EAT and solution providers VeriFone, Commidea and Common Sense EPoS.

PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., July 10, 2008–Smart Card Alliance Executive Director Randy Vanderhoof will address policy makers, industry leaders, privacy advocates and other influential individuals at an FTC “Town Hall Meeting” on the subject of contactless and mobile payment. “Pay on the Go: Consumers and Contactless Payment,” will take place on July 24, 2008 in Seattle, Washington.

Pegasus renews its contract with Gemalto as part of NFC mobile payment

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, July 2, 2008–Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announces that five banks currently use its Allynis service offer as part of the “Payez Mobile” trial for contactless mobile payment: the BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole-LCL, Crédit Mutuel-CIC, Caisse d’Epargne and La Banque Postale Groups. The Pegasus group, which consists of seven major banks and four mobile operators in France, launched the program in November 2007 with 1,000 user clients and 200 merchants in Caen and Strasbourg. The renewal of the Gemalto service contract until the end of 2008 reasserts its recognition as a trusted third party among the various parties involved in the mobile NFC ecosystem.

Top Three Handset Makers Endorse INSIDE’s Leadership in Nascent NFC Market

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, June 30th, 2008–Extending its previously announced series C funding round, INSIDE Contactless, the world leader in advanced contactless microprocessor platforms, today added Samsung Ventures America to its active investor community, which now includes the world’s top three handset manufacturers. Samsung Ventures’ participation builds upon investments from Nokia Growth Partners, Motorola Ventures and other institutional investors, providing a total of nearly $42 million (€ 28 million) to allow the company to accelerate its international presence and broaden its product portfolio.

Thinnest module available allows use of more durable print stock and improves production yield

DALLAS, May 5, 2008–Taking its cue from customers and a page out of the fashion magazines where “thin is always in,” Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) today announced the availability of its ultra-thin module for contactless payment applications which removes another technology barrier for broader proliferation of contactless payment. Now 26 percent thinner than conventional packaged contactless chip offerings, the new ultra-thin module enables card manufacturers to produce an increasing array of colorful and distinctive products with higher yields as a result of causing fewer visual imperfections than thicker chip modules. (See http://www.ti.com/ultra-thin)

In Trento, Telecom Italia Mobile subscribers have started using their mobile phone to easily take the bus

Amsterdam, the Netherlands, May 27, 2008–Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announced that it has been selected by TIM (Telecom Italia Mobile), the leading telecom operator in Italy, to support the launch of an unprecedented NFC (Near Field Communication) program in Trento. Gemalto provides TIM with transport applications embedded in the SIM cards to allow TIM customers to use their mobile phone as a convenient access device to take public transportation.

EMV Migration Driving Demand for INSIDE’s MicroPass Contactless Payment Platform

AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France, May 21, 2008–In a move to meet the growing demand for smart cards in Canada, INSIDE Contactless, the world leader in advanced contactless microprocessor platforms, today strengthened its position in the market and announced that it has joined Advanced Card Technologies (ACT) Canada. Having already delivered more than five million of its intelligent MicroPass® contactless payment chips for MasterCard® PayPass™ deployments in just the past six months, INSIDE Contactless has quickly established itself as the leading provider of contactless payment technology to the Canadian market, and is now poised to deliver technology to aid in the convergence with EMV and other non-contactless applications.

CTST 2008–THE AMERICAS CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION, ORLANDO, Fla., May 14, 2008–Open-branded contactless payment cards in the United States nearly doubled in the last year, but the buzz was about mobile payment and near field communication (NFC) on the first day of the joint Smart Card Alliance annual meeting and CTST conference.

Leiden (NL) 6 May, 2008–Collis announces today that MasterCard has qualified Collis’ new MasterCard Card Personalisation Validation (CPV) module within the Collis EMV Personalisation Validation Tool (Collis EMV PVT).