The Palmera Smart Card, issued by the Axalto company of Beijing, was recently awarded the first EMV certification ever issued in China.
Axalto is the world’s leading provider of microprocessor cards, and is a major leader in the production of smart cards, point of sale terminals, and other financial transaction products. Axalto leads the field in smart card technology, with offices all over the world and billions of smart cards being sold worldwide for various financial pursuits. Smart cards are appearing in the financial world as a replacement for magnetic stripe cards; they are safer for users due to storage of data and data-encoding devices which personalize the card to the user and cut down on fraud and account theft.
EMV certification is part of a worldwide project, intended to migrate all financial systems onto a global network that will provide a wider range of services to users via smart cards. The EMV project will provide participating financial companies and their account holders with greater financial security, account accessibility, and fraud protection. Banking systems and financial companies all over the world are participating in rolling their products onto the EMV project. EMV certification is given based on specifications outlined by the worldwide Banking Card Test Center. In order to receive EMV certification, a product must meet a set of global specifications outlined by participating companies like Visa, MasterCard, Europay, and JCB. These specifications require the product to be safe and simple to use during all types of debit and credit transactions. Ease of operation, account security, and interoperability are key to products that are awarded this certification.
With the receipt of EMV certification, the Axalto Palmera card is likely to become the principal choice for the China EMV Migration program.
"By supporting a wide range of innovative applications, Axalto Palmera will enable China banks to empower consumers with value-added services, and open a new world of exciting business opportunities," See Weng Chan, Vice President of Axalto China said in response to the award. "As the world leader in financial smart cards, Axalto looks forward to share its global experiences with China banks, to jointly bring to Chinese users a more secure and enjoyable smartcard payment experience in the future.”
If you’d like more information on this fast growing company, visit their web site at: http://www.axalto.com/banking/palmera.asp
