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SCA Latin America News
The Smart Card Alliance Latin America project kicked off on October 19, 2004 with the presentation of the Department of Commerce Market Developer Cooperator Program (MDCP) award totaling $288,000 that forms a partnering effort between the International Trade Administration and SCA to develop international trade and support education, training, and resource development for smart cards in Mexico, Brazil, and the Caribbean Islands. The Alliance staff has held organizing meetings with ITA field office personnel in Mexico and Brazil to discuss ways to bring smart card awareness and education to the government and commercial markets in those countries. The Alliance has also met with ITA personnel based in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Miami who are in support roles and are prepared to assist the Alliance's Latin American project.
In July 2005 the Latin America Chapter was launched. Organizations with smart card-related business interests in all Latin American countries and the Caribbean, plus any organization based in North America or internationally with interests in the Latin America markets, should contact Edgar Betts, Manager Business Development - Latin America at 1-954-590-3795 or ebetts@smartcardalliance.org. Memberships are available for Leadership Council, General, Government, and Associate levels.
A recent report released by Frost & Sullivan called The Americas Smart Card Market Analysis projected microprocessor smart card shipments of 136.4 million in 2005, and with over a 59 percent annual growth rate projected through 2010. The Latin American smart card market growth is due to many market factors including the migration of mobile telecommunications operators to GSM technology, the migration to EMV in the financial sector, the move to smart transit fare cards and new government and commercial secure identification initiatives. Responding to these market factors, the Smart Card Alliance today announced the formation of a new Latin American chapter to bring together smart card suppliers, partners and customers in order to address the challenges facing smart card deployment in the region.
“The Latin American smart card market is now emerging and could develop more rapidly than other markets by effectively learning from similar smart card initiatives and by forming business partnerships that can quickly deliver successful implementations,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.
The main mission of the Smart Card Alliance Latin American chapter is in line with the overall goal of the Alliance: to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart cards. The Alliance plans to use specific projects such as bi-lingual education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums to keep Latin American chapter organization members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought.
“The Smart Card Alliance has played a valuable role in developing the U.S. market in both the public and private sector. Our organization provides an educational and collaborative forum in which all of the stakeholders—manufacturers, issuers and end users—can work together to develop the cross-industry real-world solutions needed to deploy smart card systems. Our organization is uniquely positioned to bring a collective energy and focus to this technology in Latin America,” said Vanderhoof.
Next Steps:
The Advisory Board of the Latin America Chapter met on December 1, 2005 to discuss the marketing plan for 2006, including the review of important conference events where the chapter will deliver conference educational sessions, member exhibitor pavilions, and promote the educational mission of the chapter. The group also discussed a proposed membership expansion program and outlined a “government to government information exchange” to bring government representatives together to share information about smart card-related initiatives.
The Latin America chapter began its educational mission recently at the Expo Seguridad Conference in Mexico City April 26-28. The SCALA organized speakers to present four educational sessions on smart cards in electronic security. Subject matter experts from chapter member organizations, HID, Oberthur Card Systems, Atmel, and Axalto each delivered 45 minute presentations during the conference. In addition the SCALA had an information exchange booth on the exhibit floor to answer questions about smart cards and their benefits in access security markets. The SCALA also gave educational presentations and had booths at Security Week Brasil (Sao Paulo – March) and Cards Brasil (Sao Paulo – April). Upcoming industry events where SCALA will be present and speaking about smart cards include Americas Fire and Security Expo (Miami Beach – July) and ISC Brasil (Sao Paulo – August).
The chapter also announced its “Government to Government Information Exchange Program”, a way for member companies to sponsor a government official in Latin America to be introduced and share knowledge and information with a U.S. government official serving in a similar capacity. At a recent briefing by analyst organization Frost & Sullivan about the Brazilian smart card marketplace, they expect the Brazilian smart card market to grow from 71 million units in 2005 to an expected 135 million units by the end of 2006, nearly doubling the market size. Much of this growth is expected to come from the government’s student ID card and social services program set to begin shortly that will involve 45 million smart cards. The analyst cited one of the key drivers for the growth of the Brazilian smart card market was how the “Smart Card Alliance furthers smart card adoption in the region”. This independent endorsement by a leading analyst in the region demonstrates the positive effect that the Smart Card Alliance Latin America Chapter has had, and will continue to have not only in Brazil, but throughout the Latin American region.
How to get involved:
If you would like to get involved in any of the Latin American activities listed above or wish to be added to the contact list for future announcements, please send an email to info@smartcardalliance.org.
Council and Task Force Report
Alliance Members: Participation in all current councils is open to any Smart Card Alliance member who wishes to contribute to the council projects. If you are interested in participating in any of the active councils, please contact Cathy Medich.
Transportation Council
- The Transportation Council is working on the "financial/transit linkages" white paper. This white paper will look at transit needs for payment and financial industry requirements for merchants, identify gaps and challenges to transit accepting contactless financial payment cards, and make recommendations for linkages. Please contact Michael Laezza, co-project lead (mlaezza@erggroup.com) or Cathy Medich if you would like to participate.
- The Council is also collaborating with APTA to write a white paper that examines the need for a security specification for the UTFS standard for transportation electronic payment systems. Please contact the project co-leaders, Tim Weisenberger (Timothy.Weisenberger@volpe.dot.gov) or Martin Schroeder (Mschroeder@apta.com) if you would like to participate.
- If you are interested in participating in the Transportation Council, please contact the Council chair, Paul Korczak ( pakorcz@nyct.com), vice chairs, Chris Cipperly (ccipperly@wmata.com) and David deKozan (david.dekozan@cubic.com), or Cathy Medich.
Physical Access Council
- The Council has completed the 2006 Physical Access Council steering committee election. The new steering committee includes: Tim Baldridge, NASA; Paul Collier, IDTP; Sal D'Agostino, Corestreet; Bob Fee, LEGIC Identsystems; Walter Hamilton, Saflink/IBIA; Daryl Hendricks, GSA; Bob Merkert, SCM Microsystems; Dwayne Pfeiffer, Northrop Grumman; Roger Roehr, BearingPoint; Steve Rogers, Integrated Engineering; Adam Shane, AMAG Technology; Lars Suneborn, Hirsch Electronics. Newly elected steering committee officers are: Dwayne Pfeiffer, chair; Bob Merkert, vice chair; Steve Rogers, secretary.
- The Council is now starting to work on 2 new projects - developing the process for obtaining PIV test cards and developing tools to assist agencies in PACS migration planning.
- Council members continue to participate in a joint working group with the IAB, PAIIWG and SIA to collaborate on FIPS 201 issues.
- If you are interested in participating in the Physical Access Council, please contact Council chair, Dwayne Pfeiffer (dwayne.pfeiffer@ngc.com), vice chair Bob Merkert (rmerkert@scmmicro.com), or Cathy Medich.
Healthcare Council
- The Council has completed the election of its 2nd year steering committee. The new steering committee includes: David Asay, IBM; Frank Avignone, Healthmeans; Jeff Beulke, ACI Worldwide; Guy Ringle, Wisconsin Physicians Service Insurance Corporation; Nigel Smith, Visa USA; Chuck Wilson, Hitachi America, Ltd. Newly elected steering committee officers are: Frank Avignone, chair; Chuck Wilson, vice chair; Jeff Beulke, secretary.
- The Healthcare Council held its first monthly topic call on May 12. Paul Contino, Mt. Sinai Hospital, led a discussion on healthcare standards that are relevant to smart cards. The presentation used for this discussion is posted on the members-only Council web site, along with information on how to access a recording of this call.
- The next Healthcare Council topic call is on June 16. Frank Avignone, Healthmeans, will lead a discussion on regional health information network (RHIO) use of smart cards.
- The Council is soliciting members who would like to write case studies or implementation profiles of smart card implementations in the U.S. healthcare industry. Members would write these case studies, with the Council and Alliance editing and publishing the final documents. If you would like a copy of the case study template, please contact Cathy Medich.
- If you are interested in participating in the Healthcare Council, please contact Council chair Frank Avignone (favignone@healthmeans.com), vice chair Chuck Wilson chuck.wilson3@verizon.net), or Cathy Medich.
Contactless Payments Council
- The Contactless Payments Council held its first Retailer and Issuer Advisory Group meeting at CTST on May 4. We had excellent participation in this meeting, including retailers, issuers and council members. The Advisory Group identified 4 key issues and is now forming working groups to tackle these issues. Minutes from the Advisory Group meeting and contact list are available on the members-only Council web site.
- If you are interested in participating in the Contactless Payments Council, please contact Cathy Medich.
Identity Council
- The Identity Council is working on 2 position papers - one on the use of smart cards for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative's PASS card and one on smart cards and the REAL ID Act. Both papers are scheduled to be complete in June.
- Identity Council and Physical Access Council members are also collaborating on 2 short-term projects, providing comments on the Smart Card Alliance response to the draft DHS report, "The Use of RFID for Human Identification," and assembling a FAQ document on EPC Global Gen 2.
- If you are interested in participating in the Identity Council, please contact Cathy Medich.
Other Councils
- A members-only council web site is now available at http://www.sca-councils.org. This is a password-protected site that contains council working documents and contact lists. Each Council area has a separate password since Councils may have different membership policies. If you are a Smart Card Alliance member and would like access to the council site, please contact Cathy Medich.
- A council calendar has been posted at http://calendar.yahoo.com/smartcardalliance. This calendar posts the date and time of all council calls. Meeting notices will still be sent by email.
- If you are interested in forming or participating in an Alliance council, contact Cathy Medich. Click here to download a description of the council structure, proposal process and council interest feedback form.
New Members
CPI Card Group – Littleton, CO www.cpicardgroup.com
Membership Level: General
Member Contact: Benoit Guez, VP Smart Cards & International
Description: international card manufacturing services
Biometric Associates, Inc. – Timonium, MD www.biometricassociates.com
Membership Level: General
Member Contact: Douglas Kozlay, CEO
Description: Provider of complete systems for biometrically-authenticated smart cards
Mount Sinai Medical Center – New York, NY www.mountsinai.org
Membership Level: University
Member Contact: Paul Contino, VP Information Technology
Description: One of the country’s finest teaching hospitals known for medical and scientific training
Alliance in the News
The Alliance has an active communications program to promote industry messages in business, vertical market, and technology publications. Coverage results from both Alliance press releases and interviews with publications writing articles about smart cards. Selected recent coverage is shown below with links to online articles.
- Access Control and Security Systems , 4/3/06, "Smart Card Alliance to hold FIPS demonstrations at ISC-West" [link to article]
- American Banker , 5/10/06, "In Brief: Not-for-Profit Starts Smart Card Job Site" [link not available]
- Card Technology , 4/20/06, "Proposed Border-Crossing Card Raises Privacy Concerns" [link to article]
- Card Technology , 4/19/06, " U.S. E-Passport Production to Begin In August" [link to article]
- Chain Drug Review , 5/1/06, "Electronic payments are an idea whose time has come" [link not available]
- Chain Drug Review , 4/10/06, "Membership in the Smart Card Alliance increased by more than 45% last year, its founders say" [link not available]
- Contactless News , 5/8/06, "Smart Card Alliance launches online career center" [link to article]
- Federal Computer Week , 4/24/06, "Beaming across the border" [link to article]
- Federal Computer Week , 4/18/06, "US-VISIT chief wants tougher border security" [link to article]
- Health Data Management , 4/1/06, "Alliance: Smart Cards the Answer" [link to article]
- Internet Travel News , 4/20/06, "US traveller ID card spark debate" [link to article]
- SecureID News , 5/18/06, "NFC goes from pilot to commercialized rollout in Germany" [link to article]
- SecureID News , 5/8/06, "Smart Card Alliance members make real progress toward a more secure world" [link to article]
- SecureID News , 4/20/06, "Traveler ID cards spark debate at Smart Card Alliance Government Conference" [link to article]
- Security , 4/2/06, "ID SYSTEMS: Flipping Over FIPS 201" [link to article]
- Security Document World , 4/24/06, "Long-range RFID under consideration for PASS card" [link to article]
Web Site News
NEW additions to the Smart Card Alliance web site
April 2006 web statistics
- 76,360 visitor sessions for the month
- 2,545 visitor sessions per day
- 374,750 total page views for the month
- 235,392 Industry News items viewed
- 6,446 Card Reader Catalog items displayed
If you have any suggestions on content that you'd like to see on the Alliance web site, please send them to info@smartcardalliance.org.
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