After a month of negotiations, Rwanda’s Immigration and Emigration Directorate has reached an agreement with the police on what information to include in the country’s forthcoming national smart cards, according to The New Times. Pascal Nyamurinda, coordinator of the National ID (NID) Project, announced that the two institutions have agreed to incorporate both the data […]

GFI Informatique has been selected to install several NFC projects throughout Nice, France, according to itrmanager.com. The installments include: an interactive NFC guide at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, a campus-wide NFC project at the University of Nice and a city-wide NFC payment system. Initially, GFI Informatique will equip ten works at the […]

The Pittsburgh Port Authority has selected Jones Worley Communications, an Atlanta-based marketing company, and Pittsburgh-based FSC Marketing Communications to help promote Pittsburgh’s new smart card-based transit system, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle. The two companies will work together to introduce smart card technology to the public and teach riders how to use the system. […]

Eastcompeace Smart Card Co. has joined GlobalPlatform as an Observer Member, granting the company access to the activities of all GlobalPlatform Technical Committees. The company will also participate in GlobalPlatform’s Advisory Council and the Mobile Task Force, where GlobalPlatform’s specifications for the mobile telecoms sector are developed. GlobalPlatform is an international member driven association aimed […]

CIM USA has launched its new high-speed MultiEncoder, a device capable of encoding 3,000 smart cards per hour. A typical EMV chip profile can take up to 30 seconds to encode on a commonly used device. The MultiEncoder will execute and complete the encoding process in approximately two seconds, according to CIM. The MultiEncoder can […]

Sagem Sécurité’s SmartGate, an automated border control system using facial recognition, is now available at Auckland International Airport in New Zealand. Accessible to New Zealand and Australian e-passport holders, SmartGate identifies travelers in real time using facial recognition from the photo stored in the chip of the ePassport, allowing for quicker processing of international travelers. […]

The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) of Singapore plans to boost the number of retail locations where contactless cards can be accepted by 19,000, according to the Straits Times. The added locations include hawker stalls, provisions shops and vending machines. As an incentive for adopting contactless payment, IDA is cutting transaction fees by up to half […]

Aukland, New Zealand is aiming to make contactless Snapper cards widely available in 2010, according to geekzone. City buses will be the first to begin accepting Snapper cards, with trains and other forms of public transportation to follow. The initiative comes largely from the pressure to improve public transportation and ticketing for the Rugby World […]

Dubai First, banking subsidiary of Dubai Group, and UAE-based telecom provider du are participating in the first NFC mobile payment pilot in the Middle East. During the trial phase, Dubai First Platinum MasterCard customers will be able to download their credit card information to specially equipped mobile handsets over du’s mobile network. Customers can then […]

Philadelphia Parking Authority’s parking facilities at Philadelphia International Airport have begun accepting MasterCard PayPass contactless payments. The system was provided by Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), whose previous contactless payment installations include Norfolk and Miami airports. In Philadelphia, PayPass will be installed in 34 vehicular exit lanes that serve the airport’s approximately 18,600 parking spaces. Drivers […]