Axalto’s Paul Beverly kicked off the Smart Card Alliance Annual Fall Conference by painting a very bright picture of the industry’s recent past and coming future. “There will be 100 million smart cards issued in the U.S. and Canada alone this year,” he began. “The Department of Defense has issued 5.7 million cards, HSPD 12 mandated smart card usage (for U.S. federal agencies), and the ePassport, registered traveler, and TWIC programs (are making progress).”