Schlumberger is preparing to ship its Cyberflex Palmera smart card to US shores with a promise of dramatically reduced time to market for banking chip card schemes.
The Cyberflex Palmera card is billed by Schlumberger as the cornerstone of a complete solution that includes a software development kit, applications, training, card and project management, consulting, technical support and integration services. It conforms to the full Java Card 2.1.1 and Visa Open Platform 2.0.1 standards, says the vendor.
"This new card redefines expectations for time-to-market for smart services,” states Schlumberger field marketing director in North America, Francois Lasnier. "Going from service definition to prototype card could now take as little as a few months, compared to a year or more with non-Java solutions."
Designed as a modular platform, parameters such as memory size, protocol-type and cryptographic services can be activated on demand, says Lasnier. Post-issuance applications – such as e-purse, loyalty and network access – can be added and deleted in the field to support a new generation of mobile commerce applications, he adds.