Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

Smart Card Alliance accepting award nominations

Monday, April 19, 2010

The Smart Card Alliance opened nominations for its “Outstanding Smart Card Achievement” (OSCA) awards, announcing two new categories honoring innovative products and services in payments and security markets. The 2010 OSCA awards will be presented during the Smart Card Alliance 2010 Annual Conference, May 17 – May 20 at the Camelback Marriott Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz.

All specific criteria for each award, as well as eligibility requirements and nomination forms, can be found on the Smart Card Alliance OSCA award website. All nominations must be received by April 26. Nominations are open in four award categories – three for organizations and one for an individual:


Outstanding Issuing Organization Award. This award will be presented to an organization that is issuing smart card technology to its internal clients or external customers for their use in North America.

Outstanding Innovation in Payments Technology Award. This award will go to an innovative new, or existing payments-related product or service using smart card technology for use in a payments application.

Outstanding Innovation in Security Technology Award. This award will go to an innovative new, or existing security-related product or service using smart card technology for use in an identification, authentication, or access security application.

Outstanding Individual Leadership Award. This award will be presented to an individual who stands out for his or her individual contributions to the smart card industry in North America based on a professional record of leadership, vision, support and commitment to the smart card industry.

A judging panel, consisting of North American smart card industry suppliers and end-users along with individuals from the analyst and media communities, will review all qualified OSCA applications and select three finalists in each category based on the nominee’s merits and qualities outlined in the applications. The judging panel will apply a score for each nominee that will rank the three finalists in each category and the combined results will determine the winner, the runner-up, and the honorable mention award winners for 2010.

The Smart Card Alliance 2010 Annual Conference will address “Smart Cards in Action,” focusing on the issuers and users of smart card technology in payments, security, and mobile markets. Further information about the conference, with links to event information and registration web site containing the complete agenda, list of exhibitors and registered attendees to date, and full registration details are available on the Smart Card Alliance Web site. [end] 

The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has published a white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of NFC technology.

“One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy,” said Transportation Council Chairman Craig Roberts. “This white paper builds on the knowledge base developed in earlier white papers to foster a greater understanding of NFC technology, explain its role in the transit industry, and shed light on key issues facing the transit industry in developing a mobile strategy.”

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To commemorate the smart card industry’s achievements throughout 2011, the Smart Card Alliance has decided to release its first-ever E-Yearbook.

The nearly 70-page e-book discusses the year’s leadership and advancement in the smart card industry and highlights industry achievements.

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The NFC Forum and WIMA, a global conference and exhibition for NFC applications, have issued a call for entries for the 2012 Tap Into Innovation: NFC Global Competition.

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Blackpool, a seaside town situated along England’s west coast, has installed a number of Parkeon contactless-enabled parking pay stations.

For the installation, Blackpool Council opted for the Parkeon Strada pay station terminal. This new, solar-powered terminal is equipped with contactless card readers, accepting contactless payment-enabled mobile phones and various wave and pay bank cards.

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Visa has announced that more than 1 million EMV chip-enabled cards have been issued by U.S. financial institutions as of December 31, 2011.

Just 18 months ago there were no Visa-branded EMV chip cards issued in the U.S. according to Visa’s Stephanie Ericksen, who attributes the sudden growth to U.S. issuers accepting Visa’s EMV and mobile payments road map.

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The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has introduced a series of educational resources on open payments solutions in public transit systems, including a white paper, Web resources and LinkedIn group for industry professionals.

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