Schlumberger Test & Transactions is to open a new card personalisation facility at its secure manufacturing plant in Felixstowe, UK.
The new facility, part of a $3 million investment programme, has been built to offer banks a complete end-to-end solution for the design, production and deployment of payment cards, from traditional magnetic stripe cards to new-generation smart credit and debit cards. The vendor says the new facility will further simplify the supply chain for banks moving to new EMV-standard (Europay, MasterCard and Visa) smart payment methods.
"Our customers today aren’t simply looking for a card manufacturer, they want a partner who can support their EMV migration strategy at every level, from auditing the existing payment system through specification and assistance with deployment," says Bertrand Knopf, vice president, Schlumberger e-payment Europe.
He adds that the ability to offer the complete supply chain under one roof is key to Schlumberger's ambition to handle 30% of the UK market by 2004.
Schlumberger's UK customers include Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Woolwich, and the Internet innovator Egg. It also provides the Advantage card powered by Egg from Boots the Chemist, the first multi-application smart card in the UK.