Heartland Payment Systems, the nation’s fifth largest payments processor, has installed its E3 terminals at 1,020 merchant locations since commercially launching the technology on May 24 at the 2010 National Restaurant Association Hotel-Motel Show in Chicago. E3 terminals, which accept both mag stripe and contactless EMV cards, are specifically designed to protect cardholder credit and […]

The Smart Card Alliance has released a new report on the state of the smart card market in the Americas, “Smart Cards & Smart Card ICs – Americas – 2010,” created by IMS Research in association exclusively with the SCA. “This report is the first research of its kind to address smart cards specifically for […]

Gemalto announced receiving MasterCard accreditation for its Gemalto Consulting Services. As the first digital security company to join the MasterCard M/Chip Accredited Third Party program, this officially endorses Gemalto’s consulting capabilities and its vendor-independent services in contact and contactless deployments worldwide. Gemalto’s consulting service is designed to expedite the adoption of EMV and contactless PayPass […]

Merill B. Halpern, manager of card services at the United Nations Federal Credit Union, talks about the organization’s decision to deploy EMV cards to its members. With more than 4,000 members outside the U.S. the credit union had to do something to accommodate those customers living in areas where EMV is used. “We were hearing […]

Wal-Mart is insisting on EMV payment in its U.S. stores, according to storefrontbacktalk.com. The retail giant made the announcement that it’s “time for Chip-and-PIN in the U.S.” at the Smart Card Alliance conference in Scottsdale, Ariz last week. Wal-Mart’s director of payment services, Jamie Henry, told SCA conference attendees that it was “PIN or nothing,” […]

HDFC Bank is now the first Indian bank to offer credit cards that meet the global EMV standard, making the switch to chip-based smart cards from the standard magnetic stripe format. The cards are expected to provide the highest standard of security for customers. The process begins with credit and forex prepaid smart-card products from […]

Aconite, a smart card business software and consulting services provider, announced that Datacard Asia Pacific has been awarded the contract to supply Aconite’s smart card management solution, Affina Enterprise, to ICBC, China’s largest bank. ICBC chose Affina Enterprise to enable them to personalize card services at both the regional and individual level through the upload […]

Gemalto announced it has been selected by the United Nations Federal Credit Union (UNFCU) to deliver a U.S. issued, globally compliant microprocessor payment card. UNFCU recognized the need of its members, who reside and frequently travel to more than 210 countries and territories, to have a more convenient and secure payment option when traveling internationally. […]

Cardlab, a Denmark-based developer of self-powered card technology, has announced that its Powered Biometric ID Card exceeds the requirements laid out in the proposed U.S. biometric Social Security card. The proposed program came from a legislative call for improved identification documentation for immigrants including biometric technology. One of the aspects of Cardlab’s Powered Biometric ID […]

EMVco, the EMV standards body has announced its 2010 User Meeting to take place on June 29-30 in Singapore. The body made up of American Express, JCB, MasterCard and Visa, has invited all users of EMV Specifications to be in attendance. Featured guests will include senior EMVCo representatives and EMV users allowing for an opportunity […]