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Visa USA designates "Smart Visa Ready" Performance Standards for Products and Services
Compaq PCs to Receive Visa Approval
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - May 16, 2001 - Visa U.S.A. is launching its "smart Visa Ready" program, outlining an approval process for technology providers offering smart card products and services. Visa is designating "smart Visa Ready" standards in response to the increased volume of smart card-related products and services entering the market. These standards ensure consistency in product offerings, helping financial institutions, merchants and consumers easily identify and use compatible products that meet uniform performance standards.
"In order for smart cards to become viable in the U.S., there is a need to lay the foundation in which all smart card related product standards are rooted," said Patrick Gauthier, senior vice president, Smart Card Applications and Market Development, Visa U.S.A. "Visa's role has historically been to establish standards and benchmarks for making new payment channels successful. This effort is indicative of the resources and thought leadership Visa has dedicated as it drives broad-based smart card usage in the U.S."
Visa is introducing the smart Visa Ready mark, a Visa corporate identifier that denotes smart-card components, devices and services that have met a set of criteria to ensure consistent performance and utility. Visa will require vendors, processors and physical POS merchants to undergo a standardized approval process before granting authorization to use the mark. The mark will appear on device packaging or collateral.
To use the smart Visa Ready mark, companies must successfully complete all aspects of the smart Visa Vendor Approval Process. Vendors must meet Visa-established criteria in areas involving smart cards, smart card readers and card acceptance devices. In addition, vendors must comply with smart card applications and technical services standards, including systems integration, and cardholder technical support and fulfillment services. These precise guidelines correspond with Visa's unwavering commitment to excellence and reflect Visa's unparalleled experience with the deployment of smart card products. Providers associated with the launch of the smart Visa Technology platform, having established the standards of excellence, will be able to use the mark.
Compaq is smart Visa Ready
Compaq Computer Corporation (NYSE: CPQ) will begin incorporating smart card readers into its consumer PC family. Compaq, a leading global provider of technology and solutions, will be the first PC recognized as smart Visa Ready. Using the Gemplus reader technology , Compaq will release its new smart Visa Ready computers later this year. Like other payment terminals, the smart card readers will be Europay MasterCard Visa (EMV) compliant, indicating their readiness to accept EMV-compliant cards while ensuring interoperability inherent in the EMV global standard.
"Integrating smart card readers in computers is a significant step in delivering the most advanced, innovative Internet platform for the growing percentage of consumers that are shopping and buying products online," said Brett Faulk, director of Desktop Product Marketing, Compaq Computer Corporation. "Compaq is pleased to work with Visa to deliver to our customers the industry's most secure and convenient Internet platform using the smart card solution."
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About Smart Visa
Visa USA launched its smart Visa smart card product platform in September 2000, enabling financial institutions to combine the purchasing power of traditional payment cards with smart chip technology. The introduction of smart Visa is part of a broad strategy designed to provide Visa issuing banks with both a brand and a technology platform to significantly increase marketing success while reducing time and cost to market. The technology platform provides Visa issuers with a number of pre-packaged applications that can be readily adapted to fit individual issuer strategies for smart cards. Visa Member financial institutions First USA, FleetBoston Financial Corp. and Providian Financial Corp. have implemented smart Visa card programs. With this platform, consumers can access Web-delivered applications, online payments security and shopping enhancements, as well as download applications to their cards via their PCs. Since smart Visa cards use the Open Platform, Visa will be able to further collaborate with developers and Member financial institutions to offer innovative services that will work not only in the physical world and online, but also with mobile devices. With more than 80 smart card programs in 35-plus countries and on the Internet, Visa has issued more than 42 million smart cards worldwide.
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About Visa USA
Visa is the world's leading payment brand and largest payment system, enabling banks to provide their consumer and merchant customers with the best way to pay and be paid. More than 14,000 U.S. financial institutions rely on Visa's processing system, VisaNet, to facilitate over $765 billion in annual transaction volume -- including more than half of all Internet payments -- with virtually 100 percent reliability. U.S. consumers carry more than 345 million Visa-branded smart, credit, commercial, stored value and check cards, accepted at approximately 21 million locations worldwide. Visa has long led the industry in developing payment security standards, and has been named the most trusted payment brand online. Visa's people, partnerships, brand and payment technology are helping to create universal commerce -- the ability to safely conduct transactions anytime, anywhere and by any device. Please visit www.visa.com for additional information.
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About Gemplus
GEMPLUS: the world's leading smart card solutions provider
Since its creation in 1988, Gemplus International S.A.(Euronext: Sicovam 5768 and NASDAQ:GEMP) has driven the global marketing and deployment of smart card-based applications for telecommunications, financial services and e-business security.
Gemplus is instrumental throughout the value chain - chip design, card management systems, software development, and consulting - delivering integrated custom-made solutions for the security, personalization and privacy management needs of clients and partners worldwide.
Gemplus technology has played a defining role in the development of wireless telephony since the introduction of SIM cards into the GSM standard in 1990. For more than a decade, Gemplus has pioneered applications that enable network operators around the world to answer the changing needs of their customers. Gemplus was first to market with a 3G card and supplies a product range compliant with new and emerging transmission standards - 2.5G, 3G.
In 2000, revenue was 1.205 billion Euros, up 57% from the previous year's 767 million Euros. Net income was 99 million Euros. Gemplus employs more than 7800 people in 37 countries worldwide.
Since December 11, 2000, Gemplus shares have been trading on Euronext Paris S.A. First Market and on Nasdaq Stock Market™ at GEMP in the form of ADSs.
Gemplus: www.gemplus.com
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Contacts
Visa USA, Janet Yang
tel: 1 415-932-2170
email: jyang@visa.com
Gemplus Corporate, Marielle Bricman
tel: 33 4 42 36 55 96
email: marielle.bricman@gemplus.com
Gemplus Americas, Ron Schwenger / Robin Frank
PR Americas / E-Business Security
1 650 654 2978 / 1 650 654 2979
email: ron.schwenger@gemplus.com / robin.frank@gemplus.com
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT CERTAIN OF THE STATEMENTS CONTAINED IN THIS RELEASE MAY CONSTITUTE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF SECTION 27A OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 AND SECTION 21E OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. THESE STATEMENTS RELATE TO FUTURE EVENTS OR OUR FUTURE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND INVOLVE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN RISKS, UNCERTAINTIES AND OTHER FACTORS INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION CUSTOMER DEMAND FOR OUR PRODUCTS, SUPPLY OF KEY COMPONENTS, DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MARKET AND ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY THAT MAY CAUSE OUR OR OUR INDUSTRY'S ACTUAL RESULTS, LEVELS OF ACTIVITY, OR PERFORMANCE TO MATERIALLY DIFFER FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FOR A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THESE FACTORS, PLEASE SEE GEMPLUS' MOST RECENT FILINGS WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION. THESE STATEMENTS REFLECT MANAGEMENT'S CURRENT EXPECTATIONS REGARDING FUTURE EVENTS AND OPERATING PERFORMANCE AND SPEAK ONLY AS OF THE DATE OF THIS RELEASE. WE ARE UNDER NO DUTY TO UPDATE OR REVISE ANY OF THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AFTER THIS DATE OR TO CONFORM SUCH STATEMENTS TO ACTUAL RESULTS OR TO REFLECT THE OCCURRENCE OF ANTICIPATED RESULTS.
©2001 Gemplus S.A. All rights reserved. Gemplus is a registered trademark and service mark of Gemplus S.A. The Gemplus logo and GemplusUtilities are trademarks and service marks of Gemplus S.A. Providian is a registered service mark of Providian Financial Corporation. VISA is a registered trademark and service mark of Visa International Service Association. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
©2001 Gemplus All rights reserved. Gemplus,
the Gemplus logo and GemSense are trademarks and service marks of Gemplus
S.A. and are registered in certain countries. All other trademarks and
service marks, whether registered or not in specific countries, are the
property of their respective owners.
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