Gemplus Deploys First French EMV Banking Cards
World Looks at French
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294–GEM; NASDAQ:GEMP), the world’s leading provider of smart card solutions, today announced that it had become the first company to begin personalisation of EMV1 payment cards for the French financial market with the production of EMV-compliant payment cards for Societe Generale, one of the largest financial services suppliers in the Euro zone.
Working closely with Societe Generale and GIE Cartes Bancaires, Gemplus began production of B0’-EMV cards for Societe Generale on 6th January 2004.
Gemplus has been a key partner of Societe Generale for many years, when payment cards issued in France were based on a domestic payment application coded inside the smart card chip, named B0’2. In 2000, Gemplus was selected by GIE Cartes Bancaires, a consortium of all major French banks charged with the security and standardisation of French payment card infrastructure, to develop a new card that would bear both domestic and standard EMV applications. The card would also include the French e-purse application, Moneo, should this be required by individual banks.
“For strategic reasons, Societe Generale wants to migrate rapidly to EMV and we have relied on Gemplus to help us achieve this target,” explained Patrick Rasson, Vice President Payment at Societe Generale. “We knew that Gemplus is successfully involved in several EMV projects abroad and that it perfectly understands our national card application. Gemplus has a global offer which provides the services Societe Generale was looking for. Plus, as a trusted partner of ours and of GIE Cartes Bancaires, we were confident that Gemplus’ proven experience could help us at every stage of the migration process.”
“The delivery of personalised EMV cards to Societe Generale is not only a French first but a major milestone for EMV migration worldwide,” said Justin D’Angelo, Senior Vice President at Gemplus Financial Services Business Unit. “France is the most mature market in smart card payment, and we expect to see all other countries looking to France as a reference during the course of their EMV migrations.”
Under the terms of the contract, Gemplus will deliver personalised EMV-compliant payment cards to Societe Generale which include the native and historical B0’ application, as well as new EMV applications. The cards are being produced by the Gemplus factory in Gemenos.
About Societe Generale
Societe Generale is one of the largest financial services groups in the euro-zone. The Group employs 88,000 people worldwide in three key businesses:–Retail Banking & Financial Services: Societe Generale serves more than 15 million retail customers worldwide–Asset Management, Private Banking & Securities services: Societe Generale is one of the largest banks in the euro-zone in terms of assets under custody (US$1,200 billion) and under management (EUR281.5 billion, September 2003)–Corporate & Investment Banking: SG CIB ranks among the leading banks worldwide in euro capital markets, derivatives and structured finance
Societe Generale is included in the four major socially responsible investment indexes. http://www.socgen.com
About Gemplus
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294–GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is the world’s leading player in the smart card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source 2002: Gartner-Dataquest, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor.) It has the largest R&D team, unrivalled experience, and an outstanding track record of technological innovation.
Gemplus helps its clients offer an exceptional range of portable, personalised solutions that bring security and convenience to people’s lives. These include Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Identity, WLAN, Pay-TV, e-government, access control, and a wealth of other applications.
Gemplus’ revenue in 2003 was 749,2 million Euros.
1Smart card standard that was created in 1996 by Europay, MasterCard and Visa, guaranteeing worldwide interoperability and security.
2Specifications created by French banks to reinforce smart card security
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