Smart Card Talk

October 2005 • Volume 10 Number 10

Member News

OTI Estimates Revenues for the First Nine months of 2005 to Reach Approximately $24 Million
Revenues From its program of providing inlays for Electronic Travel Documents to an Asian Country Expected to Reach Low Tens of Millions of Dollars Starting FY 2007

On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) (NASDAQ: OTIV; Prime Standard (Frankfurt): OT5), a global leader in contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions for homeland security, payments, petroleum payments and other applications, has indicated that it expects revenues for the first nine months of 2005 to reach $24 Million, which would represent an increase of 56% over first nine months of 2004. Revenues in the third quarter in 2005 are expected to be approximately $9.5 Million. The increase is attributed mainly to growth in the contactless payments market. [ read the full release ]

STMicroelectronics and On Track Innovations (OTI) Deliver Approved Microcontroller Contactless Payment Solution
Volume Shipments in US Already Underway

STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), one of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers and the leader in smart card microcontrollers for financial and transportation applications, together with On Track Innovations Ltd, (OTI) (NASDAQ: OTIV; Prime Standard [Frankfurt]: OT5), a global leader in contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions, today announced that their secure contactless microcontroller solution is the first solution approved by Visa International for use in its Visa Contactless program in the U.S. [ read the full release ]

Smart Card Alliance Announces New Board Leadership for 2006
Chairman and Executive Committee Named at Annual Conference

The Smart Card Alliance today announced the new chair and its seven-member 2005-2006 executive committee. The new Alliance board of directors held elections for the executive committee at the organization's fall annual conference in Miami last week. The executive committee, chosen by the full board, will lead and direct Alliance activities for the year ahead. [ read the full release ]

From Emergency First Responders to Healthcare Professionals, Smart Cards Establish Trust, Secure IT Systems and Increase Efficiency
Highlights from Smart Card Alliance Conference Second Day

From identifying 15 million federal agency employees to responding to emergencies like Katrina to more efficient healthcare administration, smart cards bring trust and privacy to identity management and credentialing, a gathering of executives told attendees on the second day of the 13th annual Alliance conference. [ read the full release ]

Contactless and Smart Cards Changing the Face of Payments
Highlights from Opening Day of Smart Card Alliance Conference

The emergence of contactless payment in the United States and the evolution to smart cards for credit and debit cards in Canada and Mexico took center stage on the opening day of the 13th annual Smart Card Alliance conference. [ read the full release ]

Smart Card Alliance Presents Outstanding Smart Card Achievement Awards
Chase Bank USA and Robert Brandewie Receive Issuer and Individual Leadership Awards

And the winners are...The Smart Card Alliance announced the 2005 OSCA awards for "Outstanding Smart Card Achievement" (OSCA) in the North American smart card industry during its annual conference today. Selected for awards were Chase Bank USA as Outstanding Issuing Organization and Robert Brandewie, director, Defense Manpower Data Center for Individual Leadership. [ read the full release ]

Gemplus Delivers GemInstant(TM) for MasterCard® PayPass(TM)contactless payments in the US market

Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP), the world's leading provider of smart card solutions, today announced that one of the top ten leading banks in North America has selected Gemplus' GemInstant(TM) cards for its contactless payment program. [ read the full release ]

OBERTHUR CARD SYSTEMS TO ACQUIRE AFRICARD, A LEADING CARD MANUFACTURER IN SOUTH AFRICA

Oberthur Card Systems announces the acquisition of Africard (Pty) Ltd, a Labat Africa Limited company and a leading South African card manufacturer, for a purchase price of 20 million ZAR (around 2.5 million Euros), debt and cash free. The transaction will formally take place after the approval at the next Labat shareholders' general meeting. Oberthur Card Systems will assume management immediately. [ read the full release ]

New Smart Card Alliance White Paper Addresses the Impact of FIPS 201 on Federal Physical Access Control Systems

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) is driving a momentous change in how the U.S. federal government manages physical access control and information security. The new Smart Card Alliance white paper, FIPS 201 and Physical Access Control: An Overview of the Impact of FIPS 201 on Federal Physical Access Control Systems, provides a roadmap to the key specifications that federal agencies need to consider in implementing FIPS 201 compliant physical access control systems (PACS). The paper also provides an overview of essential but unresolved questions, for which standards definition and implementation guidance are still being developed. [ read the full release ]

New Smart Card Alliance and Frost & Sullivan Study Forecasts Strong Smart Card Market Growth Rates in Both North and Latin America

The smart card market will grow rapidly over the next five years throughout the Americas, according to new research announced by Frost & Sullivan and the Smart Card Alliance. [ read the full release ]