Chip card manufacturers Axalto, Gemplus, Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) and Oberthur Card Systems have established a Smart Payment Alliance (SPA) to promote the use of chip-based cards for making payments.
The Alliance vendors says they will promote the benefits of smart cards for financial institutions, establish consistent specifications and look to ensure interoperability between all the elements of a payment card system.
Philippe Combes, EVP of operations and financial services, Gemplus, says: "The association will highlight the advantages of chip-based payment cards, encourage adoption and collaborate closely to develop added-value applications."
The Alliance will position itself as a partner of EMVCo to bolster Visa and MasterCard actions on EMV specifications and their implementation. The group says it will also be represented on standardisation committees and within payment associations.
Bertrand Knopf, director, banking and loyalty smart cards, Axalto, says the association is open to additional members from the payment card industry: "Card vendors, terminal vendors and payment associations willing to contribute to the success of EMV and multi-application cards are welcome and invited to join."