HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall University has contracted with Higher One, a New Haven, Conn., financial services company for colleges and universities, to provide one-card banking and electronic funds disbursement through MU’s student, faculty and staff ID cards.  Beginning with the first summer term of 2004, Marshall students, faculty and staff will have the option to […]

Biometric and contactless technologies complement each other nicely in concept, but in the real world their integration is still quite rare. But new projects and new products are beginning to change this situation and this year promises significant advancement. In the past, both technologies presented obstacles to the merger. Early contactless chips lacked the capacity […]

After three Common Access Card (CAC)-biometric technology demonstration (TD) projects, the Department of Defense (DoD) is considering moving into phase 2 of a program that could lead to four-million-plus biometric enabled DoD CACs. But the timeframe is still uncertain. Phase 2, for which vendor support has not yet even been requested, is still on the […]

JCB Co. Ltd., Japan’s largest credit card company, is continuing its slow, but consistent expansion into the Pacific Rim area and the rest of Asia. A year ago, it had begun its initial forays into Taiwan and Korea. Today, JCB cards are starting to turn up in Thailand, Singapore, and China. “We now have significant […]

Buoyed by successful trial roll-outs in Orlando, Florida and Dallas, Texas, and a survey showing more and more consumers are looking for cash alternatives, MasterCard International is poised to launch more PayPass pilots in U.S. cities this summer. “Right now, PayPass trials are continuing in Orlando and Texas,” said Betsy Foran-Owens, vice president, product services, […]

With increased customer spending–compared with cash–coupled with decreased checkout time as high as 30-40 percent, American Express continues to pilot its ExpressPay program, recently taking it internationally for the first time. This contactless technology–a key fob no bigger than a stick of gum that attaches to the user’s keychain–was first introduced in Phoenix, Arizona early […]

Standards are incredibly important, yet incredibly frustrating. While the work of standards bodies is absolutely critical, the complexity of their effort makes it seem as though they purposefully work to make it difficult for outsiders to comprehend. Consider the following lines extracted from an actual presentation made before a security industry trade group: • M1 […]

Even while companies are moving forward with RFID tag and label implementation to help them track products in the supply chain, and even though such full implementation is likely years away from success, several states are considering restrictions on RFID use. California’s Sen. Debra Bowen in February filed a bill restricting RFID tags (see February […]