Princeton Junction, NJ, October 13, 2003–Programs are underway with major transit operators throughout the United States to implement contactless smart card-based fare collection systems. This trend may be a catalyst that creates new collaborative opportunities between transit operators, the retail payments industry and other sectors. A new white paper available from the Smart Card Alliance, “Transit and Retail Payment: Opportunities for Collaboration and Convergence,” discusses the business interests and technological foundations that must be aligned to capitalize on those opportunities.

Princeton Junction, NJ, September 30, 2003–Smart cards have a unique capability to make information access easier for users while at the same time enforcing the more robust security and privacy policies required of health care organizations to bring their environments into HIPAA compliance, according to a new Smart Card Alliance white paper released today.

McLean, VA, August 26, 2003–BearingPoint, Inc., (NYSE:BE), one of the world’s largest business consulting and systems integration firms, announced today that it has been selected to update the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Smart Card Policy and Guidelines Handbook. The handbook is a very important resource that serves as a point of reference for any federal government agency planning to implement or in the process of implementing a smart card project.

Princeton Junction, NJ, August 18, 2003–The Smart Card Alliance has announced its Fall Conference program, “Smart Cards in Motion,” focusing on one of the principal drivers of the widening use of smart card technology–mobility. The three-day agenda is rich with users who will advise attendees on the experiences of recent smart card implementations in banking, quick service restaurants and retailing, mass transit and corporate enterprises.

Princeton Junction, NJ, July 21, 2003–The United States government is today making broad use of smart card technology and is headed toward a single smart card identity credential for all federal employees. To ensure these smart IDs work across all of the government, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a new committee, the Federal Identity and Credential Committee (FICC), one of the many policy and standards topics discussed at the Smart Card Alliance Government Conference and Expo held last week in Arlington, VA.

Princeton Junction, NJ, July 15, 2003–Government agencies and commercial businesses alike are attracted to the dual advantages of higher security and more applications when using smart ID cards, generating more interest and numerous implementations here in the United States, according to a new Smart Card Alliance white paper released today.

“Smart Cards in Government 2003” Arlington, VA, July 14th, 2003–The Smart Card Alliance Conference and Expo, opening July 15th in Arlington, will focus attention on the rapidly growing use of smart cards as the security technology of choice for identity credentials throughout the Federal government. Speakers include representatives from 10 government agencies issuing smart cards, including the Department of Homeland Security, which just announced plans to issue smart card identity credentials to its 180,000 employees.

Princeton Junction, NJ, June 4th, 2003–The Smart Card Alliance will host a teleconference on “Privacy and Secure ID Systems” Thursday, June 26th, 2003 from 1:00 to 2:15 PM EDT. The program is part of a series of SmartTalk teleconferences offering both members and non-members on-going, easily-accessible education programs.

Princeton Junction, NJ, June 3, 2003–The Smart Card Alliance will host “Smart Cards in Government 2003” from July 15th to the 17th at the Sheraton National Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. The conference and exposition will bring together the leaders of the smart card movement within government, both from the internal civilian and military agency leadership as well as the technology providers and integrators that are behind these programs. The program will focus on policies, lessons learned and next steps regarding the use of smart cards and related technologies like PKI and biometrics for critical infrastructure areas involving cybersecurity, physical access security and credentialing.

CardTech/SecurTech, Orlando, May 14, 2003–Secure identification credentials and public transportation are the newest sectors contributing to the rapidly growing smart card market in the United States, according to leaders in those markets and members of the Smart Card Alliance.