Card Technology articles from June 2004

Card Technology archives from June 2004

Two Trends.(contactless technology)(SIM cards with large memories)
June 1, 2004... Two trends are worth noting based on recent developments in the smart card industry. Clearly, contactless technology is hot. MasterCard has said it expects member banks to issue its PayPass contactless cards late in the year. And vendors...

Axalto IPO Raises Industry's Profile.
June 1, 2004... France-based card vendor Axalto's long-awaited initial public offering took place last month, bringing with it more visibility to the smart card industry and some much-needed debt reduction for parent Schlumberger Ltd. The IPO raised 515...

Axalto At A Glance.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... Headquarters: Montrouge, France Place of Incorporation: Netherlands CEO: Olivier Piou 2003 2002 % change Total Revenue (US$ millions) 767.7 730.2 5.1% Cards ...

Chip Card Vendor Rankings By Revenue.(Brief Article)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... (Millions of euros) Vendor 2003 2002 % change Gemplus 749.4 787.4 -4.9 Axalto* 620 588 5.4 Giesecke & Devrient 459.6 505 -8.5 ...

Card Technology Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2004... June 28-29: ASROC Conference-London Organized by ASROC (Alternate Solutions for Reliable Online Commerce) For information, contact: Telephone: + 001 212 722 1744 Fax: + 001 212 208 728 6456 info-06asroc.com Web site:...

Java Card Progresses Slowly In China.(Watchdata system)
June 1, 2004... Chinese card vendor Watchdata System plans to introduce its first SIM card running Java Card software later this year. It would make Beijing-based Watchdata the first Chinese card supplier offering Java Card, which is designed to allow card...

Regional News.(brief)(contactless credit card called "Visa Wave")
June 1, 2004... Asia/Pacific Visa Tests Contactless EMV Card: Visa International in April launched a trial in Malaysia of a contactless credit card called "Visa Wave" that communicates with point-of-sale terminals via radio frequency technology. Unlike...

The Race Is On For A Faster SIM.(Security Identity Module )
June 1, 2004... Afaster way for SIM cards to talk to handsets could remove one of the biggest barriers to demand for high-memory SIM cards-the sluggish data speed available under present standards. Most SIMs and handsets communicate at 60 kilobits per...

Revving Up Download Speeds.(Telecommunications equipment industry)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Proposal New high-speed protocol for downloading data from handsets to SIM cards. Context Would remove roadblocks to introduction of big-memory SIMs by allowing subscribers to speedily download picture e-mails or other MMSs,...

Interest In Dynamic SIM Toolkit Grows In China.(Security Identity Module)
June 1, 2004... Although China's two large mobile network operators issue mostly low-end SIM cards for their GSM customers, there is growing interest in larger SIMs that store a "dynamic" SIM toolkit application. Card Technology has learned that China...

Malaysia Operator Launches 128K SIM Card.(Celcom)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Celcom, Malaysia's largest mobile network operator, is the latest operator to announce it is launching a 128K SIM card. Celcom said in April it would offer the top-end SIM to a portion of its postpaid customer base, charging 50 ringgits...

Printing Identity.(membership cards)
June 1, 2004... The Tottenham Hotspur Football Club in the United Kingdom last year began printing membership cards for its fan club. The Spurs Membership Card, which the club issued to approximately 38,000 fans last year, was produced in-house on printers...

Major ID Card Printer Vendors.
June 1, 2004... Company: 1 Fargo Electronics Inc., United States 2 Zebra Card Imaging United States 3 Datacard Group, United States 4 Evolis Card Printer, Angers, France 5 Magicard, United Kingdom 6 Nisca, United States 7 Victor...

Numbers Tell UK's Chip And PIN Story.(promotion campaign for usage of smart cards and personal identification numbers)
June 1, 2004... Cricket scores, lottery numbers, apartment numbers-a rapid succession of familiar images grab your attention and illustrate that numbers are a fact of life. This is certainly not your typical financial services TV spot. The new UK advertising...

Growing Shipments Tighten Chip Supply.(microprocessor chips)
June 1, 2004... Growth has returned to the smart card industry, along with the threat of a chip-supply crunch. Will prices and shipment delays begin to climb? Smart card chip makers had an unexpectedly good year in 2003, and the volume growth has...

Microprocessor Chip Vendors Enjoy Unexpected Growth In 2003.
June 1, 2004... (part 1 of 3) Microprocessor chips (in millions) 2003 2002 % change Infineon 389 286 ...

Revenue Climbs Despite Fall In Prices.(microprocessor chips)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... (Average prices for microprocessor chips and total revenue by vendor, 2003) (part 1 of 2) Average Selling Price (U.S. dollars) ...

Contactless Chip Leaders.(credit card industry)(Brief Article)(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... (In millions of units) 2003 2002 %change Philips 60 66.7 -10 Infineon 46 39 17.9 Inside* 18 10 80 Sony* 17 5 240 STMicroelectronics 16.7 12.1 38 Atmel 3 3.5 14.3...

Memory Chips-Major Producers.(Illustration)
June 1, 2004... 2003 2002 %change Infineon 782 865 -10.6 STMicroelectronics 140.7 201 -30 Philips 60 66.7 -10 Atmel 26 24 -8.3 ...

Merchants Unbound.(rules on debit cards)
June 1, 2004... For years, MasterCard and Visa pretty much determined payment card rules and pricing. Spurred on by increasingly large and aggressive merchants, regulators and courts around the world are rewriting the rulebook. The rules of the credit and...

Interchange Likely Headed Down, Readers Say.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Just a shade over half of readers believe interchange will trend down over the next 10 years, according to a survey by Card Technology and sister publication Credit Card Management. Of more than 600 readers from around the world responding to...

Why Interchange Will Fall - And Possibly Disappear.(debit cards )
June 1, 2004... What good would it be to have a telephone if no one else has one? You would have no one to call, and no one could call you. But when many people have phones, they're very useful. That's what economists call a network effect and it applies...

How Merchants' Victories Are Rewriting The Rules.(rules changes imposed on Visa and MasterCard)
June 1, 2004... Here is a snapshot of some of the important rules changes imposed on Visa and MasterCard in various markets and how they could affect the payments arena: Honor All Cards This is a rule that requires merchants to accept all cards with...