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July 25, 2004 |
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Welcome to the July edition of ACTion News.
This complimentary service is provided by
ACT Canada; "building an informed marketplace".
It is also available in the Resource Centre
of our web site. Please feel free to forward
this to your colleagues.
If you would prefer to receive this newsletter
in plain text please email your request to
andrea(AT)actcda.com.
This newsletter has been sponsored by ACT
Canada's 2004 Partner:
A Coinamatic Company
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editorial Comment
2. Ottawa to Issue Digital
Passport
3. Axalto Selected in the
First National
Transport Project in the
World
4. Visa Sees Convergence
of Transit &
Payment Cards
5. U.S. Sets Plans For
Rollout Of Chip-Based
Passports
6. HP to Deliver Next-Generation
Green Machine
& POS
7. G&D Develops a New
Generation of the
Biometric Token Concept
8. MasterCard Launches
Multiapplication 'Club'
in Europe
9. ERG Completes System
for Las Vegas Monorail
10. New Biometrics for
Canada
11. Job Postings
12. Additional Stories
Available In Members
Only Section
ACT CANADA WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR NEW & RENEWING MEMBERS:
PRINCIPAL:
Canadian Payments Association
~ member since
1998
Visa Canada Association
~ member since 1995
GENERAL:
TDCT ~ member since 1996
UPCOMING ACT CANADA EVENTS:
GOVSEC 2004
July 28 & 29
Washington Convention Center,
Washington,
DC, USA
ACT Canada presents
Cardware 04
Sept. 23 & 24
OBA Conference Centre,
Toronto, ON, Canada
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1. EDITORIAL
Source: Catherine Johnston, President &
CEO, ACT Canada (07/23) |
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Over the past six months, I've been telling
you about movement in many Canadian sectors
including; transit and transportation, retail,
finance, network security, municipalities,
campuses and others. To meet the needs of
this growing market, ACT Canada will be working
with other associations to support their
members. We have already contacted a number
of them to discuss how we can help provide
information for their members through webinars,
conferences, workgroups and other mechanisms.
We are also providing discounts to members
of these associations to attend Cardware
04 September 23rd and 24th, as well as for
our webinars. If you know of an association
whose members would benefit from these arrangements,
please let us know (catherine(at)actcda.com)
and we will be happy to contact them.
August 10th and 12th, ACT is providing a
closed-door briefing for senior government
officials in Ottawa. It is by invitation
only, but if you are from a provincial or
federal government department and would like
more information, please contact Andrea McMullen
at 905 426-6360 ext 24.
I am also happy to announce that we have
heard from several individuals who have volunteered
to sit on the National Card Advancement Committee,
so it will begin its work next month. It
is exciting to see people from different
sectors come together to explore common interests.
We will be passing to the committee the results
of our current survey on the emergence of
advanced cards in the Canadian market.
We are also forming a marketing and communication
committee. If you would be interested in
volunteering and sharing your knowledge and
enthusiasm, please contact andrea(at)actcda.com.
In case you're wondering why all this is
in an editorial, it is because this information,
with many other indicators we've observed
in the past quarter show that…
We Are At The Tipping
Point.
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2. OTTAWA TO ISSUE DIGITAL PASSPORT
Source: Toronto Star (Jim Bronskill, Canadian
Press) (07/19) |
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'Canada plans to begin issuing high-tech
passports with digitized photographs next
year, saying reliable travel documents are
crucial to the country's status as a "First
World nation."
The e-Passport, as
the revamped book
is dubbed
- given its electronic
features - will be
distributed on a
trial basis to Canadian
diplomats sometime
in the first half
of 2005,
said Dan Kingsbury,
a spokesperson for
the
federal Passport
Office.
"If the initial
implementation goes
well, we'll begin
issuing the e-Passport
to the general public
afterwards,"
Kingsbury
said. "It's
all about maintaining
the
integrity and the
security of the passport."
The project is the
latest federal effort
to track and control
the flow of people
across
borders more closely
following the Sept.
11, 2001, terrorist
attacks in the United
States.
The government is
pushing ahead with
the
plan despite objections
from privacy and
information specialists
who argue it is unduly
intrusive and unlikely
to enhance national
security.
With the inclusion
of a digitized photo,
the passport moves
into the controversial
realm of biometrics,
the use of measurable
personal features
such as an image,
iris
scan or fingerprints
as identification
markers.
The e-Passport will
feature a computer
chip
containing the holder's
photograph and personal
information on the
current passport,
including
name and date of
birth, say briefing
notes
obtained under the
federal Access to
Information
law.
Authorities at border
points would be able
to call up the data
on the digital chip
by
swiping the passport
against an electronic
reader.
"The aim of
the e-Passport is
to reduce
the chance of passport
tampering and identity
fraud," Kingsbury
said.
The newly released
background notes
say the
Canadian initiative,
with funding of $10.3
million over three
years, is in line
with
the government's
intention to produce
"internationally
respected" travel
identification.
The Canadian Passport Office is a member
of ACT Canada. For more information please
visit http://www.ppt.gc.ca.
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3. AXALTO SELECTED IN THE FIRST NATIONAL
TRANSPORT PROJECT IN THE WORLD
Source: Axalto (07/21) |
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Axalto announced it has been selected by
Thales, leading IT company and member of
East West, to provide the smart cards of
its e-ticketing solution for the Dutch national
transport project managed by Trans Link Systems.
Conducted by Trans
Link Systems and
the East
West consortium,
the program is the
first
in the world to be
implemented on a
national
scale and will offer
integrated solution
covering all means
of public transport.
The
program involves
1.4 million contactless
cards in its pilot
phase, out of the
total
12 million cards
to be deployed by
2006.
Led by industrial
consortium, the project
is to provide the
whole population
with a
fully contactless,
integrated fare system
that can be used
by the different
national
transport operators.
One single contactless
card (the Easyflow
ä card by Axalto)
will
allow the citizen
to equally access
ferries,
buses, metros, trams
or trains to travel
across the country.
More than two million
passengers per day
are expected to use
the
national transport
once the project
is fully
implemented.
Axalto is a member
of ACT Canada. For
more
information please
visit http://www.axalto.com.
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4. VISA SEES A CONVERGENCE OF TRANSIT AND
PAYMENT CARDS
Source: CardTechnology (07/13) |
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Visa International sees potential for a convergence
of Visa credit and debit cards with the growing
number of chip cards being issued by transit
agencies around the world, says Sue Gordon-Lathrop,
VP of emerging consumer environments. She
says the most likely scenario would be a
Visa member issuing a card carrying the transit
application. While the payment application
would not be used to pay individual transit
fares, Gordon-Lathrop says that credit or
debit card would most likely be used to automatically
reload value to the transit purse when it
falls below a set level. Whereas a transit
fare might cost $1 or $2, consumers are likely
to periodically reload $20 to $50 to their
cards. "Those are the size of transactions
banks are interested in looking at,"
she says. She says Visa is putting together
a guide to transit chip card programs to
help member institutions understand how to
approach transit operators about such a collaboration.
At least 100 cities around the world issue
contactless chip cards that commuters tap
on readers or wave nearby to pay their transit
fares, according to Card Technology.
Visa Canada is a member of ACT Canada. For
more information please visit http://www.visa.ca.
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5. U.S. SETS PLANS FOR ROLLOUT OF CHIP-BASED
PASSPORTS
Source: CardTechnology (07/15) |
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The U.S. State Department plans to begin
testing passports with embedded smart card
chips by December and to begin issuing chip-based
passports to all applicants by the end of
next year. That would mean issuing 8 million
passports each year with a contactless smart
card chip and antenna embedded in the back
cover of the passport book. The State Department
outlined its plans in a document asking vendors
to bid on supplying the chips and antennas
for the passports. Those bids are due Aug.
12 and the government begins to start issuing
chip-based passports to U.S. diplomats and
other officials by December. Readers will
be deployed at two airports, Dulles International
near Washington and Los Angeles International
Airport, to test performance of the new passports.
The United States
is now the second
country
after Australia to
request bids on a
new
generation of chip-based
passports that will
carry biometric data
to identify travelers.
The International
Civil Aviation Organization
last year agreed
that a digitized
photograph
will be the base
biometric used by
all countries,
and that each country
can also choose to
capture fingerprint
and iris data from
its
citizens for inclusion
on the contactless
smart card chip.
When an individual
arrives
at a border checkpoint
he or she would place
the passport near
a reader or tap it
briefly
so that the data
on the chip can be
transmitted
to the reader via
radio signals.
ICAO, a United Nations
agency that sets
standards
for travel documents,
chose contactless
smart
card chips as the
way to store biometric
data so that countries
could continue to
issue passports in
booklet forms. Competing
technologies, such
as magnetic or optical
stripes or contact
smart card chips,
require
swiping or insertion
and were not felt
to
be easily compatible
with the booklet
format.
Still, proponents
of those competing
technologies
called for a reconsideration
of that decision
earlier this year
after tests organized
by
several countries
showed that conformance
to the international
contactless standard,
ISO 14443, did not
necessarily mean
that
a reader from one
company would read
a chip
from another, says
Barry Kefauver, a
former
State Department
official who now
heads one
of the ICAO working
groups on chip-based
documents.
He says ICAO working
groups subsequently
put together a document
specifying precise
requirements for
contactless chips
and readers.
He says it is comparable
to EMV, the specification
for smart cards used
in the payments arena
in that it details
which options within
the
ISO 14443 standard
vendors must choose.
The
State Department
document notes that
"ICAO
has determined that
contactless IC (integrated
circuit) technology
is the only acceptable
technology for global
interoperability.
Therefore,
no other storage
technology will be
considered
for the U.S. E.P.
(electronic passport)
initiative."
While ICAO specifies 32 kilobytes of rewriteable
memory as the minimum required for passports,
the U.S. is asking for at least 64K of memory.
That leaves open the possibility that the
State Department may require either a fingerprint
or iris scan be stored in the just, along
with the digitized photograph and biographical
data from the passport's data page.
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6. HP CANADA TO DELIVER NEXT-GENERATION GREEN
MACHINE AND POINT-OF-SALE CAPABILITIES
Source: HP (07/13) |
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Hewlett-Packard (Canada) Co. and TD Bank
Financial Group (TD), a leading financial
services company, announced an initiative
that will have HP upgrade and manage TD's
national automated bank machine (ABM) network
and point-of-sale (POS) transaction infrastructure.
The process will include a business transformation
initiative to enhance the Green Machine experience
for TD customers.
"Through
this innovative
strategy, TD's
customers will
benefit from
the improved
accessibility,
security, availability
and
performance
of new ABM
and POS networks,
and from emerging
technologies
such as smart
cards,"
said Chuck
Hounsell, senior
vice president,
TD Bank Financial
Group
HP will be
responsible
for the overall delivery
and management
of the outsourced
solution,
one that includes
HP-specific
services such
as the service
desk, integrated
management
and communications,
data center
operations
and critical
governance
processes. HP's market-leading
ProLiant server
technology
and NonStop NSK
switch hardware
and software
will support
this mission-critical
application.
A number of
companies which
provide key components
to HP's solution
include the
following:
ACI Worldwide,
providing core
switching solution
(BASE24), application
development
and maintenance
services
The Diebold
Company of
Canada Limited, providing
ABM terminals
and first-
and second-line
maintenance
services
Intria Items
Inc., providing
business process
outsourcing
(BPO) including
cash management
and forecasting
services
Phoenix Interactive
Design, Inc.,
providing
ABM application
software/middleware
and application
development
services
TD Bank and ACI Worldwide are members of
ACT Canada. For more information please visit
http://www.tdbank.com; http://www.aciworldwide.com; & http://www.hp.com.
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7. GIESECKE & DEVRIENT DEVELOPS A NEW
GENERATION OF THE BIOMETRIC TOKEN CONCEPT
Source: Giesecke & Devrient (06/29) |
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Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is developing
a new USB token with biometric authentication.
This new Smart Token is the first key chain
token to integrate a complete system for
authentication, digital signatures, and biometrics
in a single device. SuperToken provides unsurpassed
mobility and ease-of-use for personal digital
credentials by, for the first time, offering
full security without requiring a PIN or
password.
The new product combines chip-card, fingerprint
reader with picture-processor and verification
software in one unit. The matchbox-sized
PKI Token is especially attractive to mobile
users who have additional security requirements.
With this new development, G&D uses the
STARCOS® operating system, combining signature
functionality and on-card matching technology.
With this, fingerprint reference data stored
on the chip is compared with the data obtained
by the sensor. Neither a card nor fingerprint
reader, nor separate picture recognition
software need to be deployed separately for
the authentication with the new Smart Token.
Once the digital user fingerprint is stored
on the token, the entire comparison occurs
on the chip itself based on the on-card matching
technology developed by G&D. No biometric
data is saved on the PC or other background
systems, ensuring the highest levels of data
security. Even external power is not required,
as power is obtained via the USB interface.
This new product concept for intelligent
tokens offers a complete and mobile system
for biometric-based authentication and digital
signature.
Giesecke & Devrient is a member of ACT
Canada. For more information please visit
http://www.gdai.com.
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8. MASTERCARD LAUNCHES MULTIAPPLICATION 'CLUB'
IN EUROPE
Source: CardTechnology (07/19) |
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The idea that banks rolling out EMV cards
could use the same smart card infrastructure
to offer a range of value-added services
is not new, but it continues to generate
little excitement among banks. MasterCard
International hasn't given up trying, however.
The card organization's latest initiative
is the "OneSMART Club," which seeks
to gather together issuing and acquiring
financial institutions, merchants, vendors
and processors. The members of the club,
along with MasterCard, are there to offer
technical and marketing support and preferred
pricing to banks considering rolling out
multiapplication smart cards anchored by
EMV, says the card organization.
MasterCard launched such clubs in Taiwan,
Malaysia and New Zealand earlier this year,
and this week announced it had started a
club for six Eastern European countries that
recently joined the European Union: Croatia,
Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia
and Slovenia. At a meeting last week in Prague,
a dozen MasterCard-affiliated banks from
the countries expressed interest in using
the so-called club approach to offer value-added
services as part of their small but growing
EMV programs, says MasterCard. EMV is a standardized
debit or credit application for smart cards.
MasterCard has selected three value-added
applications it believes will breathe new
life into the multiapplication concept. The
applications would allow the banks to authenticate
cardholders for online purchasing and home
banking; enable cardholders to store passwords,
ID numbers and URLs on the chip for use on
the Web; and do offline transactions with
preauthorized debit and credit cards. In
addition, MasterCard sees loyalty and the
electronic purse as other possible applications
sharing space on EMV cards.
Most European banks, both West and East,
are expected to miss the year-end deadline
for converting their magnetic stripe debit
and credit cards to chip-based EMV cards.
For example, in the six-nation Eastern European
region where MasterCard formed its latest
OneSMART club, its affiliated banks had issued
just 630,000 EMV cards as of the end of March-out
of a combined 17.5 million debit and credit
cards in circulation. Banks in Europe that
don't hit the deadline will assume liability
for fraudulent cross-border transactions
that could have been prevented by EMV, according
to rules from both MasterCard and rival card
organization Visa International.
Though many have questioned the business
case for EMV, Ates says the new initiative
isn't designed to give banks a reason to
roll out EMV itself. "It's adding value
on top their existing (or future EMV) migration,"
he says. "It's purely leveraging on
things."
Banks in Russia and South Africa are testing
preauthorized offline debit, in which high-risk
cardholders or those in isolated areas can
block off money in their bank accounts. They
can then spend with the cards until a counter
on the card's chip indicates they have exhausted
their reserved funds. They must then return
to their banks to put up more money.
Some financial institutions in Germany, Brazil
and the United Kingdom are testing EMV cards
and handheld readers to authenticate customers
for e-commerce. The cards and unconnected
readers generate a one-time password cardholders
then type into a Web site for shopping or
home banking. Barclaycard in the United Kingdom
is testing the service not only for online
purchasing but mail-order transactions and
top-ups of prepaid SIM cards.
MasterCard Canada is a member of ACT Canada.
For more information please visit http://www.mastercard.com.
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9. ERG COMPLETES FARE COLLECTION SYSTEM FOR
LAS VEGAS MONORAIL
Source: Business Wire (07/14) |
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ERG Group has announced the successful installation
and commissioning of a state-of-the-art fare
collection system for the new Las Vegas Monorail,
scheduled to open to the public July 15,
2004.
The Las Vegas Monorail System is a driverless,
urban monorail transportation system that
runs through the heart of the Las Vegas resort
corridor and is expected to carry 20 million
passengers in its first year of operation.
Seven stations are located along the route
with future stations planned as extensions
are built. ERG has installed 50 fare gates
and 38 ticket vending machines at the seven
stations and hotels to provide convenient
ticketing to serve monorail passengers. Each
entry fare gate is also equipped with a card
reader to allow the system to use smart cards
as a fare medium.
ERG is providing the Las Vegas Monorail with
a system that automates, manages and controls
the fare collection, fare media validation
and passenger access to the Monorail. By
integrating station equipment, hotel ticket
vending equipment and fare gates with its
own control center equipment, which monitors
and tracks fares, the system provides a flexible
and reliable ticketing system for both tourists
and thousands of local residents who work
along the route.
The system will use the same hardware and
backend software to process both contactless
smart cards and magnetic tickets for single
and multiple journeys, daily and weekly passes.
ERG is providing fare media utilizing magnetic
tickets in the initial stages of the project
with smart cards added in the future. All
tickets can be purchased with cash, credit
card or debit card payment with change provided
when cash is used. The total system is capable
of expansion into multiple applications for
smart cards including electronic purse for
casinos, security access and customer loyalty
programs.
ERG is a member of ACT Canada. For more information
please visit http://www.erggroup.com.
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10. NEW BIOMETRICS FOR CANADA
Source: Smart Commerce Inc. |
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Smart Commerce Inc has announced a partnership
with San Francisco based Voicematch Corp.,
incorporated in 2001, to develop easy to
use methods of biometric identification.
The technology is based upon their award-winning
standard "fully text independent"
voice pattern recognition algorithm. This
algorithm was originally developed for, and
funded by the US Department of Defence through
a grant that began in 1989 and continues
to be renewed annually. It is believed that
SCI Voicematch offers the only true "text
independent" verification of a speaker.
For more information visit http://www.smartcommerceinc.com
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| 11. JOB POSTINGS
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Project Manager - Moving the Economy (MTE)
is an innovative partnership that works to
promote and develop economic opportunities
in New Mobility/sustainable transportation.
Seeking an experienced Project Manager for
our Integrated Mobility Systems initiative,
a growing national network and consortium
exploring smart cards as a tool to integrate
and improve transportation choices and other
urban services.
Responsibilities: Project management of a
key IMS initiative to develop a proof of
concept using open system specifications
and standards for a multi-application smart
card payment system. Responsibilities also
include relations with a multi-sectoral network
and consortium, including meetings, events,
communications, partnership maintenance and
development, budget, research, and attracting
resources and support.
Qualifications: Excellent strategic and communication
skills, experience in project management
and partnership development, strong grounding
in environmental and transportation issues,
and experience and interest in technological
innovations.
Location: Edmonton (and possibly Toronto)
For Moving The Economy information see http://www.movingtheeconomy.ca
Send letter and resume by email to: Indra
Nathani at inathani@toronto.ca
fax to 416-392-0071, Attn: Search Committee
Deadline: July 30, 2004
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| 12. ADDITIONAL STORIES AVAILABLE IN ACT CANADA
MEMBERS ONLY SECTION |
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These additional stories will now be available
to ACT Canada members via the Members Only
section of our web site. Click on the link
below to access this section. If you are
a member of ACT Canada but do not have your
login details please contact me - andrea(AT)actcda.com.
http://www.actcda.com/members-only/news.htm
BELGIUM AIMS TO TAKE THE LEAD IN ELECTRONIC
ID
Source: CardTechnology (07/02)
Belgium plans to issue its first biometric-based
passports as early as this year and to launch
its chip-based national ID card rollout in
the fall…
OCTOPUS' AUTO-RELOAD SERVICE ATTRACTS MORE
HONG KONG FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Source: Contactless News (07/07)
Octopus Cards Limited is proud to announce
that financial institutions offering Octopus
Automatic Add-Value Service (AAVS) has increased
to 20 major banks…
THE UCF SMARTCITY CARD MOVES OFF-CAMPUS
Source: CR80 News (07/13)
The University of Central Florida in Orlando
has taken its SmartCity card off-campus,
piloting it first at a McDonald's across
the street from the college…
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| ACT Canada is an international non-profit
association for the advancement of card technologies.
We work on behalf of our members to promote
the awareness, understanding and use of all
advanced card technologies; including optical,
smart, capacitive and emerging technologies.
If you would like to learn more about ACT
Canada membership please visit http://www.actcda.com or contact our office at (905) 426-6360. |
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| Please forward any comments, suggestions,
questions or articles to andrea(AT)actcda.com.
If you would like to be removed from our
newsletter distribution list please reply
to this email with the word "REMOVE"
in the subject field. Please note that articles
contained in this newsletter have been edited
for length, and are for information purposes
only. |
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Andrea McMullen
AVP
ACT Canada
tel: 905 426-6360 ext. 24
fax: 905 619-3275
email: andrea(AT)actcda.com
web: www.actcda.com
mail: 85 Mullen Drive, Ajax, ON, L1T 2B3 |
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