Card platform can have a positive effect oneveryday life.”

Contact: Emmanuelle Saby at SchlumbergerSema,Tel: +33 1 46 00 71 04, email: saby@montrouge.sema.slb.com

Biometrics

Keycorp and PreciseBiometrics put the fingeron smart card technologyAustralian smart card company Keycorp hassigned a non-exclusive memorandum ofunderstanding with Precise Biometrics, theSwedish developer of biometric securitysolutions, to develop and market a biometric-enabled smart card operating system.

Under the agreement, Precise Biometrics willintegrate its Precise BioMatch C technology intoKeycorp’s MULTOS operating system; this willenable fingerprint matching to be performed at the point of transaction. The fingerprintalgorithm is stored on the smart card and match-ed against the fingerprint scanned by the reader to provide fast, accurate and secureidentification.

The new product will be jointly marketed byKeycorp and Precise Biometrics, initially inNorth America, Europe and Asia.

Keycorp and Precise Biometrics have also agreed to work together to develop APIstandards for the integration of biometricsinto the MULTOS smart card operatingsystem.

“The market for highly secure smart cardsfor payment and identification is increasingsignificantly, and this in turn will drive the need to define the standard for bio-metrics functionality on smart cards,” saidJonas Andersson, manager SmartID, PreciseBiometrics.

“The cooperation with Keycorp on develop-ing and marketing this new product opens up new opportunities in the smart card market globally. Anyone who aspires to set aworldwide standard in smart cards will need a presence in the MULTOS market,” addedAndersson.

“Security and privacy are two key issues inthe smart card industry today. By combiningbiometrics with the Keycorp MULTOS oper-ating system, card issuers can confidentlyaddress these concerns with their customers,”said Bruce Thompson, chief executive officer ofKeycorp Ltd.

Keycorp MULTOS is issued by MasterCardmember banks globally, and has recently beenchosen for Hong Kong’s identification cardproject, SMARTICS.

Precise BioMatch is delivered by themanufacturer in C code for integration into thesmart card operating system and can thusprovide high speed of execution. Implemented asa hard or soft ‘mask’ depending on memoryrequirements, Precise BioMatch C is compatiblewith any type of card operating system, and hasbeen successfully integrated in ISO 7816, JAVAand MULTOS environments.

Contact: Keycorp at www.keycorp.net

Leisure

Swiss golfers drive offwith contactless cardsGolfpark Otelfingen, a SFr22 million ventureby Migros, Switzerland’s largest retail group,has installed a contactless smart-card-basedaccess control and payments system suppliedby LEGIC Identsystems.

The club, which occupies a 72-hectare siteoutside Zurich, has attracted a membership ofmore than 8000 since opening in August 2001.In addition to two golf courses, facilities includea Golfodrome driving range, a restaurant andbanqueting and seminar rooms.

LEGIC’s Smart Golf Pass will provide accesscontrol, membership management and handicapmanagement systems. Members can also usetheir Smart Golf Pass to pay for green and rangefees, golf lessons, and to make purchases at themini shop and golf ball dispensers. GolfparkOtelfingen also intends to add new digital walletfunctions to the cards, with cashless payment forcaddy rentals and for food and drink purchasesfrom vending machines.

Future plans include the use of the SmartGolf Pass to provide a loyalty programme; thiswill carry range and green fee discounts, andprovide vouchers and discounts for otherleisure facilities such as water parks, fitnesscentres and cultural events. The club will alsouse the Smart Golf Pass system to gather andanalyse visitor data.

LEGIC contactless technology is alreadyinstalled at other golf courses in Switzerland, atPayerne and Thun.

LEGIC Identsystems, headquartered inSwitzerland, specialises in 13.56 MHz contact-less smart card technology. The company’sproduct portfolio includes read/write modulesand transponder chips for integration into third party products; some 121 external licencepartners worldwide offer LEGIC-based appli-cations including access control, cashless pay-ment, eTicketing, door locks, parking andloyalty.

Contact: Peter Mangeng at LEGIC Identsystems,Tel: +44 787 625 4607, www.legic.com

11Card Technology Today January 2003

news

• UK Premiership football club ManchesterCity has introduced smart card technologyto underpin its ticketing system. Seasonticket holders have been issued withcontactless smart cards supplied by FortressGB. The club has invested in smart cardtechnology in preparation for next season’smove to its new stadium, where it expects tohave to handle an increased numbers ofsupporters passing through the turnstiles.One immediate change is that the systemuses loyalty points to track attendance atgames. As a result, when tickets go on sale forpopular games and cup fixtures, supporterswith the most loyalty points will be able topurchase tickets first. Loyalty points havebeen allocated to existing season ticketholders in the current season according tothe number of years they have held seasontickets. To check how many loyalty pointshave accrued during the season, supporterscan e-mail the club. Fortress says that itsticketing cards can also be used, whererequired, to carry payment applications.

• US-based Cryptography Research islaunching a smart card security device that isintended to reduce the time and cost requiredby manufacturers for testing power-relatedsecurity loopholes. The device targetsDifferential Power Analysis (DPA) attacks;these attacks may be mounted by intruders toextract secret keys and information fromsmart cards during activities when power isbeing consumed. Hackers can potentially useDPA to create fraudulent transactions,generate counterfeit digital cash or steal datafrom cards.

• UK-based NOMAD Software is to supplyJordan Kuwait Bank (JKB) with an appli-cation that will enable the bank’s, and otherbanks’, customers to use mobile phone ‘top-up’ facilities at JKB cash machines. Theservice prints the top-up code onto the ATMreceipt.

• Viztec, a Cleveland-based manufacturer offlexible liquid crystal displays, has been issuedwith a patent that allows instant cashincentives to be given to customers at a Point-of Sale Terminal (POS), ATM, or otherlocation where smart cards can be used. Thepatent, US Patent No. 6,450,407, entitledChip Card Rebate System, covers electroniccash rebates loaded on to smart cards inconjunction with advertisements and salespromotions (including coupons). Viztec alsohas patents covering smart cards with flexibledisplays, as well as the downloading ofadvertisements and coupons to smart cardswith flexible displays.

in brief

news

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