Designed to link electronic devices, Near Field Communication technology could end up turning the cell phone into a “Swiss Army Knife.” Some of the first projects out of the gate link NFC-capable phones to contactless payment and ticketing solutions while others allow users to download music from a poster advertising a hit band. Sebastian Nystrom, […]

By Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor You’re on the eleventh floor of your hotel and the fire alarm sounds. Everybody freaks out. Is the fire as real as the alarm is loud? How on earth will you find the nearest exit? Why aren’t there little lights to guide you? There is chaos and confusion – not […]

With the increasing demand for security, access control is an increasingly important campus card function in Europe as it is in the rest of the world. One Spanish company is capitalizing on this rising need with a cost-effective and innovative door control system. Salto Systems, located near Bilbao, Spain, focuses on just one area: building […]

At first glance, card system vendors don’t seem to be as much a part of a European campus programs as they do in the U.S. But look a bit deeper and you will find country or region-specific organizations helping campuses build their programs. According to one such vendor – London-based Fortress GB, – card requirements […]

By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor Campus card programs in Europe are starting to accelerate, thanks in part to creation in 2003 of the European Campus Card Association. While Europe is often in the forefront of card usage in areas such as transportation and secure payments, it has lagged behind the U.S. when it comes to […]

Recently, AVISIAN Publication’s Execuive Editor Chris Corum, spoke with Scott Rau, Senior VP of Payments, JPMorgan Chase Card Services Division, about the launch of the ‘blink’ contactless payment card. Mr. Rau has been involved in advanced payments for nearly two decades, from both the manufacturing and issuing side. He led the financial cards division within […]

Bike sharing programs at university campuses aren’t exactly new. And the one that students at MIT in Boston have been operating for two years isn’t high tech despite its university being synonymous with cutting edge developments. But the goal of these students is to take the program high tech, eventually linking it to MIT’s card […]

By Dee Ann Kuhn, Contributing Editor Drivers in Las Vegas no longer need to scrounge around for change to load parking meters thanks to a new system that enables drivers to pay their parking fees and avoid parking tickets using their mobile phones. Irvine, Calif.- based Reino Enforcement Technologies has deployed 15 multi-space parking meters, […]

The 2005 third quarter has been a good one for Israel-based On Track Innovations. In August the company received a new five-year contract renewal for its Easy Park program in Israel. Then, a month later came the announcement that it had been chosen by Frost & Sullivan as its Company of the Year. The award […]

HSBC Group’s U.S. banking unit today announced that it has begun replacing its existing customers’ debit cards with new cards embedded with MasterCard’s PayPass contactless chip technology. HSBC USA plans to issue more than 1 million existing and new consumer debit cards by year end and will eventually reissue new cards to its nearly 3 […]