 |
|
|
February 28, 2005 |
|
Welcome to the February 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.
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. Editorial Comment
2. Interac Association Announces Decision
To Move To Chip
3. MasterCard's Chip Solutions
Ready For
Implementation In Canada
4. Mississauga To Hop Aboard
'Smart' Fares
5. UK ID Card Moves Forward
6. Visa Targets 500,000
Wave Cardholders
7. Using 'Wallet' Phone
To Buy Train Tickets
8. New Production Introduces
A Leaner, Meaner,
Chip Card Package
9. Toolkit For Smart Cards
Released By E-Government
National Project
10. Lowes Foods Brings
Biometric Payments
And Check Cashing To North
Carolina
11. Additional Stories
Available In Members
Only Section
ACT CANADA WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR NEW &
RENEWING MEMBERS:
GENERAL:
SCM Microsystems ~ member since 2004
|
|
1. EDITORIAL COMMENT
Source: Catherine Johnston, President &
CEO, ACT Canada (02/25) |
|
|
 |
|
If you were working in an office in 1980,
and someone said that someday you would be
able to walk into a store and buy software
for everything from word processing to golf
games, you would have laughed. No-one in
1980 would have fantasized about a global
ability to access information and software
over telephone lines connecting to a vast
computer network.
Can you imagine what
we will be able to
do
in even 10 years
with a fully deployed
smart
(chip) card infrastructure?
The Interac Association
and their members
have joined Visa
Canada
and their members
to move us closer
to a
future full of promise.
MasterCard Canada
is also ready to
support a move by
their
members.
On one hand, moving
credit and debit
applications
to chip from magnetic
stripe is a natural
evolution, particularly
in Canada where we
have a banking and
payment system admired
around the world.
On the other hand,
this
thought leadership
could inspire others
to
evaluate the need
and desirability
to upgrade
their offerings.
In the government
sector, the proven
ability
of smart card systems
to support remote
user
identification, authentication
and transaction
verification, opens
the door for patients
to effectively grant
access to their medical
records for all their
doctors. Studies
show
that this can dramatically
reduce inadvertent
drug interactions;
improving health
care,
reducing treatment
costs and contributing
to the sustainability
of our health services.
Telemedicine and
remote treatment,
electronic
voting, and access
to government services
can all be facilitated
with this technology.
By encouraging Canadians
to process transactions
online, not just
access information,
governments
can drop costs from
$44 per in-person
transaction
to $1. First Canadians
will need to feel
that the system is
secure and their
experiences
with chip in payment
will help lead them
to that understanding.
I predict electronic
cash, not just for
payment
to merchants, but
electronic cash that
can
be exchanged between
individuals. I envision
ID that will keep
my identity safe.
I seek
assurances from both
the public and private
sectors that they
will protect me by
securing
network data access
not just from outsiders,
but also through
the use of advanced
card
systems to grant
access rights to
their employees.
This is just the
beginning of where
smart
and optical card
systems will make
a positive
difference for Canadians.
Congratulations
to the financial
institutions and
their associations
for their foresight.
| |
|
ACT Canada Benefits for Readers and Members
We are pleased to announce
sweeping new benefits
for all our members, to
support their access
to the information and
contacts they need
to meet their goals in
this emerging market.
We will load this information
to our web
site in the coming weeks,
but please feel
free to contact us in the
interim and we
will email the information
to you.
This month we are also
introducing a benefit
for ACTion news subscribers.
ACT Canada and
Business Representation
Inc. (BRI) are pleased
to announce a new benefit
for companies that
sell network products and/or
services. We
have arranged access to
the BRI leads database
at a preferred rate. This
database is designed
for network vendors offering
products and
services to both the public
and private sectors
and includes 450 Network
Security Executive
contacts across Fortune
2000 North American
organizations. For more
information on content,
pricing and your discount,
please contact
Chuck Ross of BRI at 804-224-2924
or bri@netstar-usa.com.
|
|
CardTech/SecurTech
April 12-14, 2005
Mandalay Bay Convention
Center, Las Vegas,
NV
|
This year's CTST conference offers an exciting
new look at two "core competencies"
that have always been at the foundation of
the event: Security and Transactions. CTST
has always been about ID tokens that are
usually taken to mean smart cards, but actually
include so much more. Here, we've taken the
high-level technological expertise that forms
the conference and we've re-focused, packaged
and labeled it with you, the end-user of
these technologies, in mind. The result is
CardTech/SecurTech 2005. ACT Canada members
receive a discount on registration fees.
Visit http://www.ctst.com for details
|
|
2. INTERAC ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCES DECISION
TO MOVE TO CHIP
Source: Canada Newswire (02/16) |
|
|
|
|
Interac Association announced approval by
its Board of Directors to migrate to chip
technology for the delivery of Interac Shared
Services: Interac Direct Payment, Canada's
national debit card service and Interac Shared
Cash Dispensing Service for cash withdrawals
at Automated Banking Machines. The Association
plans to have the necessary infrastructure
in place for its Members to begin offering
the Shared Services using chip cards by the
end of 2006. Plans call for the first chip
transaction to take place in early 2007.
Interac Association
has been implementing
a chip readiness
strategy, focusing
on the
business and technical
requirements necessary
for chip migration,
for the past three
years.
In addition, it has
been an active participant
in the Canadian Chip
Migration Project,
a
multi-stakeholder
project focused on
developing
industry-wide specifications
for chip in
Canada.
The specific timetable
for the introduction
of chip by individual
Association members
will vary from member
to member. The Association's
mandate is to ensure
that the infrastructure
is in place to begin
processing transactions
using chip technology
by an agreed date,
and to set out the
long term migration
strategy
that includes requirements
for new point-of-sale
(POS) terminals and
Automated Banking
Machines
(ABMs) entering the
marketplace to be
chip
compatible within
a fixed timetable.
The complete migration
to chip is expected
to take several years,
recognizing the number
of cards in circulation,
as well as the number
of ABMs and POS terminals
deployed in the
marketplace that
will need to be converted.
Interac Association is a member of ACT Canada.
Please visit their web site at http://www.interac.org.
| |
|
3. MASTERCARD'S MARKET-LEADING CHIP SOLUTIONS
READY FOR IMPLEMENTATION IN CANADA
Source: MasterCard (02/25) |
|
|
|
|
MasterCard International confirmed that its
market-leading chip solutions are ready for
implementation in Canada. MasterCard has
the necessary card applications, infrastructure,
certification services, e-commerce solutions
and support programs to help Canadian card
issuers and merchants make a smooth transition
to chip-based payment platforms.
MasterCard created
OneSMART MasterCard®,
a global program
to provide financial
institutions
with technological
and marketing support
to launch smart cards.
As part of the program,
MasterCard offers
pre-configured smart
card
packages that enable
customers to get
to
market faster.
"MasterCard's
chip capability and
smart
card platforms, including
the OneSMART MasterCard™
program, have been
in place for some
time
and are ready for
immediate implementation
in Canada,"
said Kevin Stanton,
President,
MasterCard Canada.
"As a customer-driven
organization,
we do not mandate
terms, conditions
and timelines
for chip migration
to our customers,"
said Stanton. "Instead,
we work with
our customer financial
institutions and
merchants
to enact customized
plans for chip migration
according to their
business needs and
to
the unique context
of their individual
markets.
And for financial
institutions and
merchants
that need highly
customized, proprietary
solutions, we have
MasterCard Advisors
at
the ready. MasterCard
is thoroughly prepared
to process a chip
transaction in Canada
today.
In other words, we're
ready now for when
our Canadian customers
are ready to go to
chip."
MasterCard continues
to view chip as a
"fit
for purpose"
technology that works
best
in situations where
there are mutual
benefits
for card issuers,
acquirers, merchants
and
cardholders. As a
result, MasterCard
has
not issued a global
mandate to achieve
market
migration to chip
by a set date. Instead,
MasterCard's regional
operations work with
their local customers
on chip migration
according
to when and where
it makes sense for
their
local requirements.
For instance, MasterCard
Canada has long been
an active participant
in the Canadian Chip
Migration Project,
which
helps ensure shared
specifications and
ease
of interoperability
of across the nation's
various chip programs.
MasterCard Canada is a member of ACT Canada,
please visit their web site at http://www.mastercard.ca.
|
|
4. MISSISSAUGA TO HOP ABOARD 'SMART' FARES
Source: ICMA Daily News (02/22) |
|
|
Mississauga has given the official go-ahead
to participating in the Greater Toronto Area's
electronic smart card transit fare project.
The city will spend
$5.1 million for
capital
and operating costs
for the new system,
but
savings resulting
from the smart card,
along
with provincial funding,
are expected to
make the project
revenue neutral,
said Thomas
Plant, business systems
manager for Mississauga
Transit.
It was also confirmed
by Plant that Mississauga,
which has the second
largest municipal
public
transit operation
in the GTA, has been
chosen
as the first to introduce
the smart card
on two shuttle bus
routes to GO Transit
stations
in Meadowvale and
Cooksville, early
in 2007.
The smart card will
be a single, high-tech
fare system for public
transit in Greater
Toronto, including
the TTC and GO Transit.
Hamilton will also
adopt it. Mississauga
's system carries
25 million passengers
a
year.
A request for proposal
to supply the smart
card technology and
fare boxes will be
issued
in May by the province,
which will purchase
all the equipment
for the various transit
systems participating.
The TTC reluctantly
bought into the plan
when it was learned
that Toronto 's share
of provincial gas
tax revenues for
transit
was contingent on
going to the smart
card
system, Plant said.
Smart cards should
be in use across
the GTA
by 2009, Plant said.
|
|
|
5. UK ID CARD MOVES FORWARD
Source: CardTechnology - Robin Arnfield (02/11) |
|
|
|
|
The UK government's highly controversial
identity card bill has passed its third and
final "reading" in the House of
Commons, which normally would ensure that
it becomes law. In this case, however, the
approval Thursday by a vote of 224 votes
to 64, does not appear to make the bill a
sure thing. The legislation now goes to the
House of Lords, the UK parliament's upper
chamber, which could delay it until after
the UK general election expected to take
place in May. In that case, the bill would
have to be reintroduced after the election
and approval could take several more months.
The government wants to introduce a smart
card-based identity document for UK residents
16 and over, about 50 million people. The
country has not had a national identity document
for over half a century.
Home Secretary Charles
Clarke, who replaced
David Blunkett, the
ID cards bill's originator,
in December, warned
that the legislation
may still face defeat.
He said that the
Lords
could sabotage the
bill which needs
to be
passed before the
election if it is
to become
law in the current
parliamentary session.
The government fears
that Conservatives
in
the Lords could spin
out the debate about
the bill so that
no vote takes place
before
the elections.
If the bill ultimately
becomes law, citizens
applying for passports
would receive one
with a contactless
smart card chip carrying
biometric data. They
would also receive
the
smart card ID. The
ID card would not
be compulsory
until 80% of the
population obtains
it voluntarily.
The government now
expects it may be
2017
before that occurs,
sources say. Its
estimate
of the cost of the
plan has been increased
to 5 billion pounds
(US$9.5 billion)
from
3 million pounds.
Driver's licenses
were a part of the
"family"
of smart card documents
in an earlier version
of the bill. The
government now proposes
to separate out that
initiative, but still
plans to introduce
a smart card-based
driver's
license around 2008,
according to John
Elliott
of UK-based ConsultHyperion.
From late 2005, the
UK government will
start
issuing passports
containing contactless
smart card chips
that store biometric
identifiers.
At a minimum, the
chips will carry
a digital
photograph. Whether
fingerprints will
also
be stored remains
under discussion.
| |
|
6. VISA TARGETS 500,000 WAVE CARDHOLDERS
Source: ICMA Daily News (02/17) |
|
|
|
|
Visa Asia Pacific is targeting 500,000 Visa
Wave cardholders over the next 12 months
in Malaysia, where the contactless smart
card had its world commercial roll-out on
Feb 16.
Its country
manager for
Malaysia, Jeffrey
Perera, said
four banks
had confirmed their
interest on
a tie-up with
Visa Wave, but
he declined
to name them.
Malaysia was
the ideal launch
pad for Visa
Wave as the
payment industry
had already
made huge strides
in its national
migration
to Europay-MasterCard-Visa
(EMV) chip
cards
and terminals,
he told reporters
after the
commercial
roll-out in
Kuala Lumpur.
From June this
year, Visa
Wave cardholders
would be able
to make payments
at 4,000 merchant
locations which
include convenience
stores,
quick-service
restaurants,
cinemas, petrol
stations and
supermarkets,
he said.
Between April
and August
last year, Visa
launched the
card on a pilot
project basis
via card issuer
MBf Cards,
which issued over
4,000 Visa
Wave cards
for use at 150 merchant
locations in
Kuala Lumpur.
It had brought
Malaysia's
EMV chip migration
to a new horizon
by adding contactless
payment
technology,
he said. The
Visa Wave would
be made available
to the rest
of the world
soon.
The smart card
is also usable
at 22 million
Visa acceptance
locations around
the world,
using either
the regular
contact chip at
the front of
the card or
magnetic stripe.
It requires
no signature
and card handling
by the cashier.
Visa Wave is
a contactless
payment technology
that removes
the need to
swipe or insert
a smart card
into a payment
reader. Cardholders
just need to
hold the card
at a close range
of four centimetres
from the reader
in making
payments.
A survey in
September 2004
found that among
the 20 leading
merchant chains
covering fast
food outlets,
supermarkets,
restaurants and
ticket merchants,
80% regard
Visa Wave as
a secure payment
versus cash.
About 70% of
the respondents
said Visa Wave
payment transactions
were speedier
than other
payment cards,
80% found it
an efficient
form of payment
and 95% planned
to accept
the card in
future.
Visa Canada Association is a member of ACT
Canada. Please visit their web site at http://www.visa.ca.
|
|
7. USING 'WALLET' PHONE TO BUY TRAIN TICKETS
Source: ICMA Daily News (02/23) |
|
|
|
|
Japan's top cellular operator, NTT DoCoMo
Inc., unveiled a service that will let customers
use their handsets as train tickets, part
of the company's mission to transform the
cellphone into a digital wallet for everything
from buying food to opening doors.
The service, based on smart-card technology
developed by Sony Corp., is crucial for DoCoMo
as it struggles to retain customers in a
competitive market.
Last year, DoCoMo, in a joint venture with
Sony, introduced its first handsets embedded
with the electronics maker's FeliCa smart
cards. The cards contain a chip for storing
electronic money and personal information.
Clearing a turnstile with a wave of the hand
has already proved popular with Japan 's
commuters. The companies will begin testing
the service in March, with a launch scheduled
for January 2006.
|
|
8. NEW PRODUCTION INTRODUCES A LEANER, MEANER,
CHIP CARD PACKAGE
Source: Contactless News (02/02) |
|
|
|
|
Infineon Technologies AG and Giesecke &
Devrient GmbH (G&D) have jointly developed
a new production method for chip packages
specifically for use in chip card applications.
The FCOS (Flip Chip On Substrate) method
is the first in which a chip card IC is rotated
or flipped inside the module housing it.
The functional side of the chip is attached
directly to the module by means of conductive
contacts; conventional gold wires and synthetic
resin encapsulation are no longer required.
The new attachment technique saves space
in the module; additionally, it is even more
robust than the conventional wiring solution.
This means that the whole module handles
high mechanical stresses better like those
encountered, for example, when a chip card
is sent by post and passes through the postal
system's sorting machines.
Removing the need for the wiring used in
existing methods frees up space in the module,
which is therefore able to accommodate a
larger chip. Typically, the standard maximum
chip size has been around 25 square millimetres.
Using the new technique, it should be now
possible to add extra functionality to the
card relatively quickly, without the time-
and cost-intensive space optimization work
typically required in chip development.
Alternatively, the space savings provided
by the FCOS method can be used to shrink
the modules in which existing chips are housed.
Smaller modules are already in demand for
certain applications. The European Telecommunications
Standards Institute (ETSI), for example,
approved a smaller form factor for SIM (Subscriber
Identification Module) cards in mobile phones
at the beginning of 2004. ETSI wants to see
dimensions of just 12 mm x 15 mm in future,
a specification for which the smallest possible
modules will be required.
Infineon's responsibilities in the FCOS project
included the fundamental development work,
the design of the module and the development
of the production method for FCOS modules.
Both companies then brought their expertise
to bear to ready the FCOS technology for
practical chip card applications. G&D
contributed its knowledge of chip card production,
built the new module into the card body and
conducted all of the card qualification tests
necessary to confirm its suitability for
high-volume production. Infineon and G&D
will each market FCOS independently.
The new packaging technology has passed its
practical test. Infineon provided the more
than 70 million FCOS modules which G&D
integrated into prepaid phone cards already
in circulation in Mexico.
Conventional chip packages are currently
around 580 micrometer (µm) thick on average;
FCOS modules not more than 500 µm. A human
hair, by way of comparison, is typically
around 80 µm thick.
Giesecke & Devrient and Infineon Technologies
are members of ACT Canada. Please visit their
web sites at http://www.infineon.com & http://www.gdai.com.
|
|
9. TOOLKIT FOR SMART CARDS RELEASED BY E-GOVERNMENT
NATIONAL PROJECT
Source: PublicTechnology.net (02/22) |
|
|
|
|
The (UK) National Smartcard has launched
a smart toolkit offering local authorities
all the help they need to meet Priority Outcome
G12 by setting up a multi-application smart
card scheme.
Produced by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council,
the toolkit provides a step-by-step guide
to setting up a smart card scheme to enable
councils to improve access to services for
citizens.
Complete with an at-a-glance checklist, the
toolkit takes users from identifying a scheme
to implementation based on expertise and
experience from officers at Bolton who have
implemented the council's own Access Bolton
smart card.
Richard Tyndall, National Smartcard project
manager, said, "With all local authorities
being required to meet priority outcome G12
to implement smart card schemes for access
to leisure and libraries by 2006 the project's
toolkit provides a useful guide to the process.
"While all local authorities will undoubtedly
approach the challenge differently in order
to meet their own local circumstances the
expertise and experience of authorities like
Bolton that have implemented multi-application
smart cards is invaluable to the process."
|
|
10. LOWES FOODS BRINGS BIOMETRIC PAYMENTS
AND CHECK CASHING TO NORTH CAROLINALOWES
FOODS BRINGS BIOMETRIC PAYMENTS AND CHECK
CASHING TO NORTH CAROLINA
Source: SecureID News (02/08)
|
|
|
Biometric payment systems are sweeping grocery
and convenience stores across the southeast.
BioPay announced that Winston-Salem, North
Carolina-based Lowes Food Stores, Inc. will
begin offering biometric payments to its
customers, giving people a more convenient
and easy way to pay for groceries. In addition,
Lowes Foods will offer Paycheck Secure, the
nation's leading biometric identification
system, to its check-cashing customers.
BioPay expects to install BioPay at Lowes
Foods stores in the North Carolina market
in the spring of 2005. BioPay expects to
have its payment method installed in all
108 Lowes Foods stores by the end of 2005.
BioPay's biometric payment service allows
people to conveniently pay for purchases
with the touch of a finger. There is no cost
for customers to enroll or use BioPay.
Lowes Foods customers in the North Carolina
market have already begun using BioPay's
Paycheck Secure to quickly and securely cash
payroll checks. Paycheck Secure uses biometric
technology to electronically capture a customer's
finger image and then record payroll check
transactions associated with that person.
Customers only need to enroll in BioPay once,
and enrollment can be completed at any merchant
that offers the biometric payment service.
To enroll, the customer gives the clerk his
or her driver's license or other ID, which
is entered into BioPay's database. At the
same time, the customer's index fingers are
scanned. The customer's preferred checking
account is recorded, as well as Rewards Card
and age information. The entire process takes
less than one minute. Once enrolled, the
customer can pay with his or her finger at
any retailer in the United States that features
BioPay.
More than 1.5 million consumers are enrolled
in Paycheck Secure, making it the most widely
used retail biometric system in the nation.
|
|
| 11. ADDITIONAL STORIES AVAILABLE IN ACT CANADA
MEMBERS ONLY SECTION |
|
|
These additional stories are 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
IS THE E-PURSE COMING BACK?
Source: Finextra (02/15)
Banks gave the electronic purse a try back
in the 1990s, but largely abandoned their
efforts when the products failed to gain
any real traction in the marketplace. But
new technology means that the e-purse is
back again with more potential for success,
and it isn't only banks who are playing with
it…
|
|
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
|
| 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. |
|
|
|
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 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
