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Dear members
and friends of the Alliance,
As we put on the
finishing touches to the Summer of 2003 it is time to reflect
on what has transpired and look ahead at what is to come.
In my role as the Executive Director things seem to happen
in blocks of time, approximately 3 months in length, anchored
at either end by a significant Alliance event. That holds
true now as I look back on the successful July "Smart Cards
in Government" Conference and Exposition and look forward
to the approaching "Smart Cards in Motion" Conference,
October 14 -16. In between, the work of the organization continues
on many fronts – although I did manage to enjoy two wonderful
weeks of vacation doing what I love best – sitting on
the beach with my family enjoying the ocean.
August also marks
the end of another fiscal year for the Alliance and many of
its members. For all members joining prior to January 1, 2003,
this is membership renewal time. Renewal letters have been
sent out and are due back on September 1 with next year's
dues. This is a good time for all who receive this monthly
newsletter to review what they derived from their involvement
in the Alliance during the past year. I believe we have accomplished
a great deal. We have run three highly rated conferences,
the highlight being last fall's Scottsdale event. We have
published five white papers (3 based on security and 2 on
payments) with two more to be completed by October. We initiated
the SmartTalk teleconference series with two highly regarded
programs and Alliance members served as guest presenters at
nearly a dozen industry conferences promoting the benefits
of smart cards to a broad audience. We nearly doubled our
news release output and PR budget generating hundreds of placements
in leading newspapers, journals, publications, and TV spots.
Although our efforts
are great and our accomplishments many, we do not have the
resources to continue at this rate unless we maintain our
current members and add others. Therefore, I ask for your
continued support. Our ongoing new membership initiatives,
led by the "Drive for 55" Program that ended in April, netted
30 new Alliance members since January, the biggest increase
in our history for a similar duration. We created the Leadership
Council level of membership to recognize organizations with
the will and the means to stand out as industry leaders. However,
for the last two years the tough economy, tightening corporate
marketing budgets, consolidation in the industry, and continued
slumps affecting some segments of the industry have resulted
in a high turnover of members each year. I have tried my best
to manage this organization wisely, minimizing expenses and
maximizing member services. We closed the New York City office
last year and eliminated all staff except myself. We are outsourcing
member services, web support, marketing, PR, and taskforce
leadership in an attempt to minimize cost. I have not hired
any new staff or contractors and I continue to cut every feasible
corner on expenses without impacting membership value. We
need to continue to grow to remain successful. If you are
not currently a member, please consider joining during this
renewal period. Visit our web
site or send an email to info@smartcardalliance.org
for membership details. Our membership year no longer starts
and ends on September 1, so if budgetary restraints make it
difficult to begin membership now, you can join anytime of
the year and receive the benefits of membership for the full
12 months. If you are currently a General Member, I hope you
will continue with us for another year or, even better, consider
upgrading to Leadership Council and running for a seat on
the board (elections take place in early September).
Although you will
be receiving additional email shortly regarding the Fall "Smart
Cards in Motion" Conference on October 14-16, I want
to mention it here as well and encourage everyone within earshot
of this newsletter to register for this event. This is always
the best conference of the year and this one will be no exception.
The Sawgrass Marriott Resort in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL will
have to go a long way to surpass the service we received last
October at Scottsdale's Camelback Inn, but from all I have
seen they will do just that. As the conference theme indicates,
sessions will focus on contactless technologies as well as
alternative form factors and applications requiring mobility,
customer convenience, security, and speed. We will address
the impact mobile chip technology is having on financial,
retail, transit, and wireless markets and explore emerging
growth areas such as PayTV. Online registration and event
information can be found on the Alliance web
site. Immediately preceding the event on Monday,
October 13, our Educational Institute (EI) will hold the EI
101 Intro Course and EI 201 Advanced Course. Both the EI courses
and Conference programs are open to everyone, with members
receiving special complimentary registrations and discounts
based upon membership level.
Also topping the
news this month is a series of new outside conference announcements
and sponsorships. The Smart Card Alliance EI staff is presenting
a "Smart Cards and Secure ID Workshop" at next month's CardTech
SecurTech ID conference on September 8th at the Sheraton National
Hotel in Arlington, VA. There are still seats available –
for information, visit www.ctst.com.
A new agreement between the Alliance and Ben Miller's INSIDE
ID Identification Solutions Megashow will place the Alliance,
along with ACT Canada, in the role of managing the Card Technology
Information Portal at the December 8-10 event at the Washington
DC Convention Center. We will assist conference attendees
on the exhibit floor by answering card technology-related
questions and providing information, handouts, and directions.
Details about the INSIDE ID conference can be found at www.insideid.com.
As always there
is so much to tell you and so little space to cover it all.
I will stop here and save some of the exciting news for my
annual State of the Alliance address at the Fall conference.
Until I see you then, be well. Enjoy your last few days of
summer.
Randy
Vanderhoof
Executive Director
Smart Card Alliance
rvanderhoof@smartcardalliance.org
Each week the
latest news, press releases, and articles are made available
at your Alliance web site. To include your company's articles,
news, and releases in this great industry resource, send electronic
submissions to news@smartcardalliance.org.
Click on the headline to read the full text of these articles–currently
"showing" at the Alliance site.
Each month,
the international smart card associations who are members
of the ISCAN network share smart card industry news with the
Smart Card Alliance. Below are some of the highlights from
recent ISCAN member newsletters.
SMART ID CARD
GOING AHEAD IN CHINA
On June 28, the Third Plenary Meeting of the 10th National
People's Long-standing Committee approved "The National Citizen
ID Law of PR China", effective January 1, 2004. Since the
introduction of National Citizen ID system, the State has
created and issued 1.14 billion of Citizen ID, with a total
of 960 million ID subscribers nationwide.
................ Source:
The Smart Card Society of Southern Africa, August 15, 2003
SMART PHILIPPINES
The Philippines Bureau of Immigration is to issue a smart
card carrying biometric data to identify foreigners entering
and leaving the country. Associate Commissioner Arthel B.
Caronongan, who heads the committee evaluating bids for the
I-Card system, says an estimated 85,000 registered foreigners
will receive the cards by the end of this year.
................ Source:
The Smart Card Society of Southern Africa, August 15, 2003
OZ TRAVELLERS
GOING SMART
Three more Australian states are replacing public transport
magnetic stripe ticketing systems with smart cards. Perth
will announce a successful tender for its public transport
ticketing system within weeks, while Hobart and Adelaide are
looking at replacements for their aging Crouzet magnetic stripe
systems, installed in the mid-1980s and near the end of their
lives. Services of 18 public transport operators will be included
in the new TransLink ticketing network. Planners are even
considering frequent-traveler discounts.
................ Source: The Smart Card
Society of Southern Africa, August 15, 2003
TESCO AND SMART
TAGS
The use of "smart" tag technology to keep track of goods (including
food) through the supply chain to consumers will soon become
a reality if a trial being carried out at Tesco, one of the
UK's largest supermarket chain stores, is successful. The
test, which is being conducted in partnership with the international
cosmetic company Gillette, will use radio frequency identification
(RFID) chips incorporated in tiny tags attached to packets
of razor blades.
................ Source:
The Smart Card Society of Southern Africa, August 8, 2003
HONG KONG BEGINS
ISSUING SMART CARD IDs
The government of Hong Kong in June began issuing new smart
card IDs to its citizens. The replacement of paper ID cards
for 6.9 million residents of the city, now a part of China,
is expected to take four years. The government began issuing
smart cards to new arrivals, children eligible for a juvenile
ID card on reaching age 11, 18 year olds eligible for an adult
ID, individuals applying for replacement cards and those changing
data on their ID cards. The smart cards carry a fingerprint
biometric and are intended to deter illegal immigration.
................ Source: The Smart Card
Society of Southern Africa, Aug 8, 2003
COINAMATIC CANADA
APPOINTED CANADIAN DISTRIBUTOR OF CALE PAY & DISPLAY PARKING
DEVICES
Cale Access AB, supplier of advanced Pay & Display parking
devices has appointed Coinamatic Canada Inc., through its
wholly-owned subsidiary Parksmart Inc., as its national Canadian
distributor.
................ Source: ACTion News, ACT
Canada, July 2003
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