The four members of the Smart Payment Association account for “the vast majority of the payment smart cards market,” more than 580 million, according to a survey released by the association.
That figure corresponds to a 39% year-on-year growth spurred by EMV migration, the survey points out. The organization was founded in 2004 by Gemalto, Giesecke & Devrient and Oberthur Technologies to promote the use of smart cards for payment. It has since picked up a fourth member, Sagem Orga.
Other findings from its 2008 survey:
More than 25% growth in all regions with the fastest coming in North America, where shipments have more than doubled, Commonwealth of Independent States countries (such as Russia and the Ukraine), Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa with a growth rate exceeding 65% and South Asia at plus 49%.
Open-platform is gaining ground and now represents 15% of all shipments, a 72% increase compared to last year. This is due to the development of multi-application EMV cards.
Growth of both dual interface and pure contactless cards has outperformed the market, with rates of 140% and 66% respectively.
“A lot of industries were severely affected by the financial crisis. Despite a slowdown in the SPA payment smart card shipments at the end of 2008, the smart card manufacturers are not as heavily impacted as others can be,” said Marie-Jane Denis, president of the Smart Payment Association. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/secureidnews-4.gif)
