Passport Canada CEO Christine Desloges has announced that Canada will start issuing e-passports by the end of next year, according to Citytv.com. Speaking at a conference at the Montreal HQ of the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization, Desloges declared, “Canada is on track for the full-scale delivery of its e-passport. Next year we will […]

FIME has announced that its EVAL Test Suite has received MasterCard PayPass 3.0 qualification. According to FIME, the suite can now be used to test contactless terminals designed to meet the payment system’s latest specifications for accepting high value contactless transactions. The EVAL Test Suite has also received qualification from the EMV standards body, EMVCo, […]

The smart card industry bounced back from a weak 2009, as unit shipments increased 19% and smart card IC units increased by more than 20%, according to IMS Research. In its new report “Smart Cards and Smart Card ICs – World – 2011,” IMS Research discovered that card suppliers restocked their inventories in 2010, which […]

Gemalto announced that it is providing Colsubsidio, a Compensation Fund in Colombia, with multi-application EMV cards. The Multi Service Membership Card provides all Colsubsidio members with the security of EMV payment, combined with a range of services. These services include an e-purse application, admittance to recreational parks, as well as access to sport and convention […]

The Open Standard for Public Transport (OSPT) Alliance has published version 1.0 of its Cipurse open ticketing standard to the public for ‘reading and evaluation.’ Designed to give transit authorities ‘future-proof’ fare collection systems, the Cipurse specification will enable technology suppliers to develop and deliver interoperable fare collection solutions via contactless cards, stickers, fobs, mobile […]

Visa Europe France and its member banks are making Strasbourg France’s “second contactless payments capital,” following the successful deployment of the technology in Nice last year. The pilot will see Visa contactless payment cards and supporting terminals delivered to Strasbourg citizens and merchants through a number of Visa Europe’s member banks, including Banque Edel, BNP […]

This summer a group of students at Arizona State University used mobile phones to enter residence hall and even their dorm rooms. Blackberry, Android and iPhone handsets were outfitted with near field communication (NFC) for physical access. HID Global credentials were provisioned to the smart phones for communication from handset to door. Trial participants shared […]