AUSTIN, TX, Feb 11, 2010 - PIN Payments News Blog - Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, today introduced the World Traveler program, which includes a globally accepted dual interface EMV payment microprocessor card and complete issuance service for U.S. banks and card issuers. With most countries around the world moving to EMV based payment for greater security, U.S. travelers are increasingly having trouble using magnetic stripe bankcards abroad, especially in offline applications like unattended ticketing/payment kiosks. Gemalto’s new World Traveler program allows any U.S. issuer to provide cards to their customers in under two months ensuring secure and hassle-free payments while traveling internationally and at home.
Gemalto’s World Traveler card program provides U.S. banks and card issuers with a complete end-to-end portfolio of service offerings including return on investment (ROI) and technical consulting to ensure a quick and easy introduction of this product to their top tier customers. The portfolio leverages Gemalto’s global footprint and expertise in payment products to provide full card design and production, personalization data preparation and personalization of EMV dynamic data authorization (DDA) contact and contactless dual interface cards ensuring global acceptance and forward compatibility for both online and offline payment transactions. To provide an optimal experience for cardholders, Gemalto also provides additional services in this offering like SMS based PIN reminder service and global emergency card replacement as part of the complete World Traveler program.
“Cardholders expect to be able to use their payment card anywhere in the world,” said Jack Jania, vice president and general manager Secure Transactions North America. “Gemalto’s World Travel card product and service portfolio allows U.S. card issuers to fulfill this expectation with globally accepted smart payment cards ensuring the ability to make secure payments anywhere their customers travel.”
EMV is a global standard for chip card payment managed by Visa, MasterCard, American Express and JCB. The Gemalto EMV based World Traveler card contains a microprocessor which provides global acceptance and a more secure payment technology in the same convenient form factor as other payment cards. Gemalto will provide banking cards containing its secure digital technology for EMV payments, as well as a magnetic stripe for paying in the United States. By providing encryption for the payment transaction, the World Traveler card ensures global acceptance for both online and offline transactions while significantly reducing the risk of payment card fraud and identity theft for cardholders.
For more information on payment challenges abroad:
* “For Americans, Plastic Buys Less Abroad,” http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/travel/04pracchip.html?_r=3&hpw
** The Broken Promise of Pay Anywhere, Anytime: The Experience of the U.S. Cardholder
Abroad - September 2009 Aite Group online survey of 1,019 U.S. resident cardholders that traveled to countries outside of Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico between 2006 and 2009. The report can be found at http://www.aitegroup.com/reports/200910261.php.
For more info: http://www.gemalto.com/emv/index.html
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is the world leader in digital security with 2008 annual revenues of €1.68 billion, and 10,000 employees operating out of 75 offices, research and service centers in 40 countries.
Gemalto is at the heart of our evolving digital society. The freedom to communicate, travel, shop, bank, entertain, and work—anytime, anywhere—has become an integral part of what people want and expect, in ways that are convenient, enjoyable and secure.
Gemalto delivers on the growing demands of billions of people worldwide for mobile connectivity, identity and data protection, credit card safety, health and transportation services, e-government and national security. We do this by supplying to governments, wireless operators, banks and enterprises a wide range of secure personal devices, such as subscriber identification modules (SIM), Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) in mobile phones, smart banking cards, smart card access badges, electronic passports, and USB tokens for online identity protection. To complete the solution we also provide software, systems and services to help our customers achieve their goals.
As the use of Gemalto's software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.
For more information please visit www.gemalto.com.
