Portable biometric/smartcard reader
The SmartPrint Mobile Checker is a wireless, handheld authentication unit used to read data from contactless, secure personal identification (smart) cards. The Mobile Checker compares a live version of an individual's fingerprint with their biometric template stored on a card. Following successful identity verification, the Mobile Checker displays its data (the owner's name, identification number, and/or any other records) on its LCD display for a highly secure identification.
256K smart SIMs
A little more than a year after the first SIM cards packing 128 kilobytes of electrically erasable programmable read-only memory hit the streets, some vendors and at least one mobile network operator are starting to introduce the next generation of EEPROM-based SIMs, 256K.
Though demand is expected to remain small for the high-end chips for at least this year and next, the activity demonstrates some operators are asking for more user memory for their customers.
One of those operators is Maxis Communications of Malaysia, which in October introduced a SIM with 256K of EEPROM, enough rewriteable memory for customers to store 1000 phone numbers, 100 SMS text messages and a larger SIM toolkit menu.
Maxis says the phonebook and text message storage capacity is four to five times greater than offered by its current high-end SIM, carrying 64K of EEPROM.
US government gears up for rapid move to smartcards
Facing a presidential order to have all US federal agencies issuing a standard ID card by February 2006, government officials have set an aggressive timetable for developing standards for the smartcard credential. Officials have not even had time since President George Bush's 27 August order to count the number of government workers and employees of companies working for the government that will require the new ID. But William C. Barker, a programme manager at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, estimates that 7 million individuals will carry the smartcard IDs. NIST is responsible for developing the standards, and it is wasting no time, since the presidential order says there must be agreement on a standard by 27 February 2005.
Barker says questions still remain over whether to include a contactless interface on the new smartcard ID and about which biometrics to use to identify cardholders.
UK ahead in the EMV rollout
Two of three British cardholders have at least one smartcard, and just over half of the payment terminals in the country can accept them, the Chip and PIN office of banking group Association of Payment and Clearing Services announced today. As of the end of September, 56,8 million cards carrying smartcard chips and requiring entry of a personal identification number had been issued to 56,8 million consumers, the group says. And 438 000 compatible point-of-sale terminals had been deployed, just over half of the country's 860 000 POS locations. APACS has set a goal of 36 million cardholders having smartcards and 636 000 payment terminals converted to accept them by year's end. Starting 1 January 2005, consumers will be asked to insert their smartcards and enter their PINs when paying. From that date, any fraud losses will be shifted from card issuers to merchants that are not equipped to accept smartcards and PINs.
Fascinating pilot project
MasterCard and Capitec have announced the launch of a pilot project for a new, EMV compliant pre-authorised banking product, Mastercard Pre Authorised (MPA), aimed predominantly at banking the previously underbanked sector of the population.
A significant challenge in many markets today is to convert unbanked people into active bank customers and payment cardholders.
MPA requires that the card issuer set aside a pre-authorised amount to be spent offline. This amount will be replicated on the card.
Cardholders may also be able to initiate a 'top-up' of the pre-authorised amount stored on the card on specially equipped terminals, such as issuer kiosks, ATMs, and other issuer-designated terminals. These terminals could also allow cardholders to view their latest balance or details of the last 10 transactions.
Malaysia did not wait to get smart
By the end of 2005, all Malaysian citizens over the age of 12 will be carrying a dual interface contact/contactless smartcard as their national ID. With a population of 23 million, the Malaysian program is both one of the world's first national ID card programs and one of the largest issuances of dual interface technology. The multipurpose MyKad cards incorporate both government and private sector applications onto a single card.
The US$71-million project is called 'MyKad'. The word M shows up in Malaysia's Internet address as well as meaning personal ownership, while Kad is a dual acronym of 'Kad Akuan Diri' which, translated, means personal identification card and 'Kad Aplikasi Digital', meaning digital application card.
MyKad began in 1999 when the Malaysian government awarded the project to the Government MultiPurpose Card Consortium (GMPC), a consortium of five international technology suppliers. Several government agencies in Malaysia also collaborated on the project, with the National Registration Department (NRD) named the lead government agency. The main objectives of the MyKad project were to provide a one-stop service centre for enhanced customer service and convenience and to provide a secure, single, common platform for present and future government and private sector applications.
Honeywell getting smarter
An agreement between Honeywell and LEGIC Identsystems will allow Honeywell to add RFID access and smartcard technology to its OEM readers, giving the company's customers more options in meeting their building security needs. The partnership will allow Honeywell to incorporate access control application solutions from a leading supplier of contactless smartcard technology, into its portfolio of smartcards and readers. This will give Honeywell customers a broader range of solutions for their building security applications. "This enables us to take advantage of their highly secure smartcard technology in our access control solutions," says Gary Wuetig, platform development and offering leader at Honeywell, Europe, Middle East and Africa. "Based on this multi-application technology we will also be able to implement new, state-of-the-art solutions to continue meeting our customers' needs."
New smart tyre pressure system
SmarTire Systems ( www.smartire.com) successfully completed the initial test phase for a new battery-less tyre pressure and temperature monitoring system. Current tyre monitoring systems use battery power to transmit pressure and temperature information from tyre sensors to the vehicle receiver. The new SmarTire technology involves a passive sensor inside each tyre that is energised by an antenna located within each wheel arch. SmarTire's system is an environmentally green solution that eliminates battery disposal. SmarTire shipped 100 SmarTire systems to be marketed to tourist and public bus operators in China. The new SmarTire for buses incorporates high pressure transmitters, an improved receiver as well as a graphic display mounted in view of the driver to monitor both tyre pressure and temperature, warning the driver about tyre abnormalities. This tyre information is critical for the safe operation of the bus and helps maximise tyre life and fuel economy as well as reduce the risk of downtime.
Have you seen the recent Smart Card SA report?
More than 100 million smartcards will be in active use in SA by 2009, according to a report by World Wide Worx and Razor's Edge Business Intelligence.
The report, Smart Card Trends and Deployment in SA 2004, indicates that the smartcard industry is poised for an unprecedented explosion in SA, with three large-scale rollouts set for 2005 and several more to come.
"We will begin to see an unprecedented range of applications for smartcards from 2005 onwards, starting with the telecommunications cards we already have and extending to financial services," says Razor's Edge Business Intelligence MD Bruce Conradie.
"But it will not be long before almost every service that requires some form of identification or secure payment will take advantage of smartcard technology."
World Wide Worx MD, Arthur Goldstuck, says smartcards are more secure than any other identification technology that is economically viable and available, can contain updateable information ranging from personal details to fingerprints to identification photos, and is far less prone to forgery than existing systems.
The report says the significant smartcard roll-out will require major upgrading and acquisition of new equipment, as well as an understanding of what smartcard technology is best for a purpose.
Gridiron going smart
PowerPay's contactless tag is designed to make it easier for football fans to return to the game quicker. The contactless tag got its start with the Seattle Seahawks last season, and is now used in Detroit and Philadelphia as well. Consumers, using the cashless fob, can complete a transaction at the concession stand in as little as three seconds by waving the tag. That means they miss less of the football action.
The contactless smart tag was first introduced to Seattle Seahawks fans at the first preseason game in August 2003. There, exclusive Club Level Seat ticket holders were able to buy concessions on the club level by waving their smart tag over a reader at a point-of-sale terminal.
"The fans love it," says Smart Systems president/CEO Mark Johnson, and the Seahawks are happy too since use of the contactless smart tag is generating more sales.
The latest National Football League stadium to accept Powerpay is the Detroit Lions' Ford Field, which was available to fans at the Lions' first home game, 19 September.
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