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:

During the October 11-14, 2005, Alliance 2005 Fall Annual Conference in Miami, FL, there was a strong turn out of speakers and attendees from Brazil, Mexico, and the Caribbean. At a dinner reception and meeting on Thursday, October 13th,  twenty two representatives from the Latin America chapter gathered to hold their first meeting to discuss the direction the chapter will take in 2006 and how best to represent the Latin American smart card industry through education, media relations, conferences, and published reports. The group agreed to a list of targeted conference events at which the chapter will have a visible presence. The chapter will also seek opportunities to deliver smart card presentations and workshops at these events.
 
The next meeting is planned for Monday, November 14th in Paris at the 2005 Cartes & Identification show.   The Foundation Members include Oberthur Card Systems, Rede Ponto Certo, Axalto, Visa International, Daruma Orga, Identification Technology Group (ITG), Atmel, STMicroelectronics, and Fargo Electronics.

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 has completed a preliminary version of the new white paper on smart cards and parking and has submitted it to two parking industry associations for comment. Target final publication for the new white paper is November 2005.
• The Transportation Council met during the Alliance Annual Conference to discuss next projects.   A small member team is developing the statement of work for a new project to collaborate with APTA to review the UTFS security guidelines and write a white paper that provides guidance on security standards and approaches.   If you would like to participate in this project, please contact Tim Weisenberger ( weisenberg@volpe.dot.gov ).
• The Transportation Council is planning to hold elections for officers (chair, vice chair - transit, vice chair - parking, vice chair - tolling) and for the steering committee.   If you would like to nominate an individual (or yourself) for these positions, please send the nomination to Cathy Medich ( cmedich@earthlink.net ) by November 30.   The Council will vote via email, with the goal to have the elected officers and steering committee in place by February 2006.
• If you are interested in participating in the Transportation Council, please contact interim Council co-chairs, Greg Garback ( ggarback@wmata.com ) or Mike Dinning ( dinning@volpe.dot.gov ) or Cathy Medich.  

Physical Access Council

• The Physical Access Council is developing the statement of work for its next project, a briefing document defining the alternatives for upgrading PACS to FIPS 201 compliance.
• The Physical Access Council has published its first deliverable, an executive summary white paper describing how FIPS 201 and related NIST special publications affect implementation of government physical access control systems.  The white paper is available at no charge from the Smart Card Alliance web site [ http://www.smartcardalliance.org/about_alliance/councils_pa.cfm ].
• The Physical Access Council has also created a resource on the Smart Card Alliance web site [ http://www.smartcardalliance.org/alliance_activities/FIPS_201_resources.cfm ] that maintains up-to-date information about the status of FIPS 201 and provides information that is relevant to both government agencies and other enterprises implementing new PACS.  
• If you are interested in participating in the Physical Access Council, please contact Council Chair, Bob Merkert ( rmerkert@scmmicro.com ), Vice Chair, Dwayne Pfeiffer ( dwayne.pfeiffer@ngc.com ) or Cathy Medich.  

Healthcare Council

• The Healthcare Council is currently developing a white paper on the use of smart cards in healthcare applications in the US.   The Council is actively looking for members to participate in this project.
• If you are interested in participating in the Healthcare Council, please contact Council co-chairs, Frank Avignone ( favignone@healthmeans.com ), Paul Davis ( pdavis3@mindspring.com ) or Cathy Medich.

Contactless Payments Council

• The Contactless Payments Council has completed its first deliverable, a short position paper titled "The What, Who and Why of Contactless Payments." This position paper was developed to describe the key changes associated with the use of contactless payments in North America, including the additional value such payments can provide to issuers, acquirers/processors, independent sales organizations (ISOs), retailers, and consumers.   This paper is intended to facilitate communications among the various industry stakeholders by describing current market activities and standardizing definitions key to understanding contactless payments.   The paper is available at no charge from the Smart Card Alliance web site [ http://www.smartcardalliance.org/about_alliance/councils_cp.cfm ].
• The Contactless Payments Council has created a resource on the Smart Card Alliance web site [ http://www.smartcardalliance.org/alliance_activities/contactless_pmts_resources.cfm ] that provides up-to-date information about the status of financial industry-sponsored contactless payment initiatives in the U.S.  
• Council activities for the next 6 months will be focused on outreach and education, including a web seminar in early 2006, industry event participation, proactive communications with media and industry analysts, and development of additional position papers to communicate the value of contactless payments to the merchant and financial communities.
• If you are interested in participating in the Contactless Payments Council, please contact Cathy Medich.  

Identity Council

• The Alliance Board of Directors has approved the formation on a new Identity Council .   The Identity Council will be focusing on promoting the need for technologies, legislation and usage solutions regarding human identity information.   Council sponsoring members are now meeting to define the Council management structure and first-year plan for activities.
• If you are interested in participating in the Identity Council, please contact Cathy Medich.  

Other Councils

• 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. 

Secure Personal ID Task Force

• The Secure Personal ID Task Force has published 2 new briefing documents, "Contactless Smart Chip Technology: The Business Benefits," and "Contactless Smart Chip Technology: Providing Strong Support for Security and Privacy."  These documents are available on the Smart Card Alliance web site. If you are interested in participating in the Task Force, please email Cathy Medich, Task Force Chair.

Terminal and eTransaction Infrastructure Task Force

• The Terminal and eTransaction Infrastructure Task Force report, "Mobile Payments at the Physical Point-of-Sale: Assessing U.S. Market Drivers and Industry Directions," is available to all members at no charge from the members-only web site and to the general public from the Alliance web store. If you are interested in participating in the Task Force, please email Cathy Medich, Task Force Chair.

FIPS 140 Smart Card Task Force

• The FIPS 140 Smart Card Task Force is working on a project to investigate and define a common card platform that allows the establishment of a reference against which applet developers can certify. If you are interested in participating in this Task Force, please email Cathy Medich.

New Members

Chase Card Services - Wilmington, DE  www.chase.com
Membership Level: General
Contact: Scott Rau, Senior Vice President
Description: Global financial services company
 
Metro (SORTA) - Cincinnati, OH www.sorta.com
Membership level: Government
Contact: Ted Bergh, Assistant General Manager
Description: Southwest Regional Transportation Authority operating as Metro providing transportation in Cincinnati region
 
VISA Canada Association - Toronto, ON, CANADA www.visa.ca
Membership level: General
Contact: Allen Wright, Director, Chip Initiatives
Description: The leading credit card association in Canada
 
Multos - Washington, DC www.multos.com
Membership level: General
Contact: John Wood, Chairman
Description: MULTOS provides the first open, high-security, multi-application operating system
 
Cisco Systems - San Jose, CA www.cisco.com
Membership level: General
Contact: Eric Hampshire, Security Architect
Description: Worldwide leader in networking for the internet
 
Inside Contactless - Menlo Park, CA www.insidecontactless.com
Membership level: General
Contact: Didier Serra, General Mgr & Executive VP Sales
Description: Only semiconductor company fully dedicated to contactless technology

SUN Microsystems - Santa Clara, CA www.sun.com
Membership level: General
Contact:  Moshe Levy, Marketing Manager
Description: global developer of software technologies, including JAVA for smart cards

Latin America Chapter - new member:

Fargo Electronics, Inc. - Eden Prairie, MN www.fargo.com
Membership Level: Foundation Member, Leadership Council
Contact: Tatiana Bolivar, International Sales Manager. Latin America
Description: global leader of secure technologies for identity issuance systems

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.

• A&S Magazine/ASMag.com, 10/8/05, "Smart Card Market to Grow Annually by Nearly 28%" [ link to article ]
• ATM Marketplace.com, 9/6/05, "Smart Card Alliance establishes Contactless Payments Council" [ link to article ]
• Baltimore Sun, 10/2/05, "Identity proves easy to swipe: Aging credit card technology is vulnerable to theft" [link not available]
• Card Technology, 9/1/05, "U.S.-based smart card alliance launches Latin America chapter" [link not available]
• Card Technology, 9/1/05, "Smart Card Alliance Takes Nominations For Awards" [ link to article ]
• Card Technology, 9/29/05, "Smart Card Alliance 2005 Fall Annual Conference and USA/Latin America Conference" [link not available]
• Card Technology, 9/30/05, "Big Growth Predicted In Smart Card Market" [ link to article ]
• Card Technology, 10/12/05, "Chase's Blink Card Wins Smart Card Alliance Award" [ link to article ]
• Card Technology, 10/12/05, "Brandewie Receives Smart Card Alliance Award" [ link to article ]
• CardLine, 9/9/05, "Alliance Forms Contactless Council" [link not available]
• CardLine, 9/28/05, "Report Predicts Big Growth in Smart Card Market" [link not available]
• CardLine, 10/13/05, "Sao Paulo Wins Smart Card Transit Award" [link not available]
• CardLine, 10/14/05, "Chase's Blink Card Wins Smart Card Alliance Award" [link not available]
• CardLine, 10/14/05, "CVS Hopeful About Contactless Payment Cards" [link not available]
• Contactless News, 10/17/05, "'Trail-blazing' Chase wins Smart Card Alliance's OSCA award" [ link to article ]
• Convenience Store News, 10/3/05, "The Smart Choice: Research predicts bright future for the smart card" [ link to article ]
• CTWeekly, 9/29/05, "Smart Card Alliance 2005 Fall Annual Conference and USA/Latin America Conference" [link not available]
• ePayments News, 9/21/05, "Upcoming Events: Smart Card Alliance 2005 Fall Annual Conference" [ link to article ]
• ePayments News, 10/6/05, "Market Reports:New Smart Card Alliance White Paper Addresses the Impact of FIPS 201" [ link to article ]
• Federal Computer Week, 9/5/05, "6 smart ways to use smart credentials" [ link to article ]  
• findBiometrics.com, 9/21/05, "Smart Card Alliance Announces Conference Agenda for the U.S./Latin America Fall Annual Conference in Miami " [ link to article ]
• findBiometrics.com, 10/4/05, "Using Smart Cards for Secure Physical Access" [ link to article ]
• Greensheet, 10/12/05, "Contactless and Smart Cards Changing the Face of Payments" [ link to article ]
• Identity Management Products, 9/15/05, "Smart Card Alliance Conference to Provide Pan-American View of Opportunities, Successes" [ link to article ]
• Identity Management Products, 9/15/05, "Smart Card Alliance Invites Nominations for "Outstanding Smart Card Achievement" Awards" [ link to article ]
• Interest Alert, 9/22/05, "Smart Card Alliance Announces Conference Agenda for the U.S./Latin America Fall Annual Conference in Miami" [ link to article ]
• Interest Alert, 10/4/05, "New Smart Card Alliance and Frost & Sullivan Study Forecasts Strong Smart Card Market Growth Rates in Both North and Latin America" [link not available]
• Interest Alert, 10/14/05, "From Emergency First Responders to Healthcare Professionals, Smart Cards Establish Trust, Secure IT Systems and Increase Efficiency" [ link to article ]
• Market Watch, 9/22/05, "OATH Will Host September 27 Webinar on the Benefits of Open Authentication" [ link to article ]
• Market Watch, 9/28/05, "New Smart Card Alliance and Frost and Sullivan Study Forecasts Strong Smart Card Market Growth" [ link to article ]
• Market Watch, 10/4/05, "New Smart Card Alliance White Paper Addresses the Impact of FIPS 201 on Federal Physical Access Control Systems" [link not available]
• Market Watch, 10/12/05, "Contactless and Smart Cards Changing the Face of Payments" [link not available]
• Market Watch, 10/13/05, "From Emergency First Responders to Healthcare Professionals, Smart Cards Establish Trust, Secure IT Systems and Increase" [link not available]
• Market Watch, 10/18/05, "Smart Card Alliance Announces New Board Leadership for 2006" [link not available]
• SecureID News, 10/6/05, "Smart Card Alliance White Paper addresses FIPS 201 impact on access control systems" [ link to article ]
• Security Management, 9/9/05, "DHS Change Creates Challenges" [ link to article ]
• Security Sales & Integration, 9/28/05, " Report: Smart Card Market to Grow Annually by Nearly 28%" [ link to article ]
• SecurityInfoWatch.com, 9/28/05, " Boom Times Ahead for Smart Cards in North and South America" [ link to article ]
• SecurityInfoWatch.com, 10/14/05, "The Security Week That Was: A Recap - Oct. 8-14, 2005" [ link to article ]
• SecurityInfoWatch.com, 10/18/05, "Smart Card Alliance Announces New Board Leadership for 2006" [ link to article ]
• Smart Card World, 9/15/05, "Randy Vanderhoof, Executive Director, Smart Card Alliance, talks about "contactless payment" and the infrastructure that supports it" [ link to article ]
• Wireless Design & Development (Asia), 10/4/05, "Strong Growth Forecast for Smart Card Markets in Both North and Latin America" [ link to article ]
• Yahoo Finance, 9/21/05, "Smart Card Alliance Announces Conference Agenda for the U.S./Latin America Fall Annual Conference in Miami" [ link to article ]
• Yahoo Finance, 10/4/05, "New Smart Card Alliance White Paper Addresses the Impact of FIPS 201 on Federal Physical Access Control Systems" [ link to article ]
• Yahoo News, 9/15/05, "Free Global Biometrics Web Conference With World-Leading Experts" [link not available]

Web Site News

NEW additions to the Smart Card Alliance web site

• Frost & Sullivan "America's Smart Card Analysis" report executive summary
• New Contactless Payments Council position paper, "The What, Who and Why of Contactless Payments"
• New contactless payments resource page, providing up-to-date information about the status of financial industry-sponsored contactless payment initiatives in the U.S.  
• New Physical Access Council white paper, "FIPS 201 and Physical Access Control: An Overview of the Impact of FIPS 201 on Federal Physical Access Control Systems"
• New Physical Access Council FIPS 201 resource page, providing up-to-date information about the status of FIPS 201 and provides information that is relevant to both government agencies and other enterprises implementing new PACS. 

September 2005 web statistics

•  54,511 visitor sessions for the month
•  1,817 visitor sessions per day
•  99,566 total page views for the month
•  19,561 Industry News items viewed
•  2,656 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 .

Copyright 2004-2005 · Smart Card Alliance · 191 Clarksville Rd. · Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
Phone: (800) 556-6828 info@smartcardalliance.org · www.smartcardalliance.org