Gemplus, a provider of smart card solutions, and Universal Kart, part of the Teknoloji Holding Group in Turkey are jointly investing one million euros in an EMV card personalization project in Turkey.
The project will offer banks a cost effective EMV card personalization solution based on Gemplus' GemSense Pro software. An estimated six million EMV smart cards will be issued over the next four years.
The personalization of EMV banking cards is a complicated process as personalization bureaus need to integrate new requirements and stringent audits set by Payment Associations in terms of production, equipment, facilities, and software implementation. The new EMV standard, as set by Europay, MasterCard and Visa, dictates that strict criteria be met for the personalization of EMV smart cards.
EMV is a smart card standard that was created in 1996. EMV specifies that, by 2005, all debit/credit payment cards in Europe will be smart cards rather than magnetic stripe cards. Visa and MasterCard Europe have put in place a number of incentives to ensure that banks across Europe manage to meet the deadline. The EMV standard is recognized internationally, guaranteeing worldwide interoperability and security.
Universal Kart, a Teknoloji Holding Group company, was founded in 1998. The company acts as an "operational solutions partner" to card issuers and acquirers in Turkey. It offers technical consultancy and services to companies issuing cards and installing PoS terminals and plans to provide new services to enterprises as a strategic Technological Service
Partner. — (menareport.com)
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