Smart Card Talk

September 2004 • Volume 9 Number 9

Executive Director's Letter

Dear members and friends of the Alliance,

September's sense of urgency has replaced August's relative tranquility in a major way. However, the flurry of activity around the Labor Day weekend was a wake-up call that the summer season is over and now it's time to move from cruising speed to warp speed overnight. Is it just me, or does this happen to everyone else also?

For starters, September marks a new fiscal year for the Alliance and with it, the planning for the next 12 months along with the usual kick-off event, the Fall Annual Conference on October 18-20, 2004. Although the planning committee has been working hard throughout the summer to make this year's event successful, it is now crunch time to coordinate all of the pieces and bring the industry together in San Francisco for a memorable event. This year's conference theme is "Evolution through Innovation." Highlights will include Richard Clarke, author and nationally known anti-terrorism advisor to the last four presidents of the United States, delivering the keynote address plus two executive-level panels covering "State of the Markets" and "State of the Industry."

In addition to the comprehensive program agenda, many other featured activities are planned. The Tuesday Awards Dinner will include an award presentation by Frost & Sullivan to the Alliance member organizations that the market research organization recognized for excellence in 2004. Following these awards will be the Smart Card Alliance's own OSCA awards, voted on by a panel of member and external judges from the large number of nominations submitted. Two moderated birds-of-a-feather discussion groups will allow attendees to join in the debate about important industry issues. Several technology demonstrations are planned, including a transit industry demonstration of the Regional Interoperability Standard (RIS). Wednesday will feature the new Next Generation Technology Fair for selected start-ups or privately funded companies who will showcase and present their innovative smart card technology and solutions. I will be kept busy preparing my own version of a "state of the union" address, announcing several exciting new Smart Card Alliance initiatives and programs. These conference highlights and the networking that occurs when the largest number of smart card industry executives and end-user organizations gather in one place promise to make this year's Annual Conference the best ever. The discounted room rate of $159/night at the Hyatt at Fisherman's Wharf has been extended only until September 24th, so make your reservations NOW.

The Alliance has redoubled our outreach efforts into vertical industry organizations and conference events for 2004/2005. In just the next few months, the Alliance will be present as an exhibitor or speaker talking about smart cards and applications at CTST Public ID, Digital ID World, ISC East, Inside ID, and RF Payments in the U.S., as well as eSmart and Cartes IT Security in Europe. In addition, the Alliance has negotiated special pricing and space for a Smart Card Pavilion at the RSA Conference, ISC West, and RFID World Conference in 2005. Interested exhibitors should contact the Alliance at info@smartcardalliance.org .

The big news coming out of the government marketplace this month is the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12). This policy directive, signed by the President, George W. Bush, announces plans to establish a common identification standard for all federal employees within 6 months of the directive, with additional deadlines in the following months for agency executives to have programs in place to conform to the new standard. What this is likely to mean is additional funding and a greater urgency by some federal agencies that have been standing on the sidelines while other agencies, like Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, NASA, and GSA, have been testing or issuing cards and upgrading their security infrastructure. This directive, coupled with recent awards for the TWIC program and Registered Traveler and the anticipated US Passport award, has folks in and around the Washington, D.C. area scrambling to keep up with the smart card activity. Meanwhile, the private enterprise and healthcare sectors continue to move at a glacier-like pace as management debates whether there is a business case for security.

Smart cards are heating up again in the payments industry. McDonald's recently announced that they will begin accepting credit cards, including MasterCard's PayPass contactless credit cards, at all of its fast food outlets. 500 stores in the New York area and 200 more in Dallas will be equipped this year. The only issuer currently offering a card with the MasterCard PayPass feature is MBNA. This summer, MBNA introduced an affinity card that is offered to fans of the National Football League team, Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles have deployed contactless readers at their stadium, Lincoln Financial Field, to accept a tap-and-go payment and loyalty product known as PowerPay, from New York-based Smart System Technologies. The same chip can accommodate both systems. I just received mine - and I say, "Go Eagles!"

In conclusion, I have to put on my business hat and remind everyone whose membership renewals were due on September 1 to make sure they send in their payment if they haven't done so already - especially with the Annual Conference just ahead. In order to take advantage of the complimentary registrations and discounted members-only rates for this conference, you must be a paid-up member. For those readers who are not members today, now is a great time to join. You can come to the conference for free and get to network with the biggest names in the industry. What could be a better use of your marketing dollars than that?

Sincerely,

Randy Vanderhoof, Executive Director