A recent article in the Boston Globe describes the growing uses for vending machines that card payments are enabling. As machines are equipped to process credit and debit transactions, the move from under-$1 items to higher priced items opens up. In one trial, Staples is deploying machines that sell office supplies (e.g. power cords, computer […]

XceedID Corporation announced that it will work with GE Security, part of GE Infrastructure, to offer next-generation contactless smart card and reader products to the security industry. XceedID and GE Security, along with other industry leading security companies, will offer a range of contactless products and work together toward establishing an open protocol standard for […]

Nicole Carroll helped mold London’s transit fare collection card into a nationwide iconic brand under the name Oyster Card™. In her new role with Cubic, she will bring her unique combination of card technology background and consumer marketing/branding skills to transit bodies in other cities. The editorial team at Contactless News congratulates Nicole on this […]

Gemplus has announced the FIPS 140-2 certification of its 64K smart card, making it eligible for purchase by the U.S. Department of Defense in a buy scheduled to take place later this year. The next generation Common Access Card (CAC) will feature double the memory of the previous CAC, and will be compliant with the […]

At more than 150 merchant locations in Malaysia’s capital of Kuala Lumpur, consumers are testing a new contactless payment card from Visa. Called Visa Wave, the trial is Visa’s first foray into contactless consumer payments. It is significant because it is brings the world’s largest card association into the contactless payments landscape and it marks […]

Seeking a uniform transit fare standard–that’s open source, no less–is a yeoman’s job, but one that a task force of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) has willingly undertaken. Someday, all transportation agencies may have the ability to have interoperable regional smart card systems. The future could be one in which a single smart card […]

Contactless technology is beginning to gain a foothold among those who count the most: Consumers. Without their acceptance, contactless cards would just be another “what could have been” trend. A new report from Smart Card Alliance, “Contactless Payments: Delivering Merchant and Consumer Benefits,” summarizes some of the major contactless test projects and gives a good […]

Microsoft is serious about security and sees a growing role for smart cards, PKI, and biometrics. It unleashed a 20-city Microsoft Summit tour in April, while its CEO, Steve Ballmer, talked up security and the software giant’s role in it, in an April speech to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and other government officials in […]