Gemplus takes home Silver Prize at the EPCA/ECR Excellence in Payments Innovation Awards

GemSense Instant Issuance wins award in the category for the most innovative and advanced Payments Software/Hardware Product

LUXEMBURG, April 6, 2006 – Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 – GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP), a world leading provider of secure card-based solutions, announces that GemSense Instant Issuance, its new personalization and card issuance solution, was awarded the Silver Prize in the category for the most innovative and advanced Payments Software/Hardware Product launched in 2005 at the EPCA*/ ECR** Innovation Awards 2005 at its ceremony in Amsterdam on April 4th.

Launched in November 2005 and part of the GemSense range, GemSense Instant Issuance allows banks and retailers to securely personalize chip cards at bank branches or points of sale. Easy to deploy, cardholders can be given a fully personalized smart payment card at their own branch in a matter of minutes, using a small desktop personalization machine.

GemSense Instant Issuance is ideal for quick card replacement bringing greater flexibility to issuers. This can help with customer segmentation strategies, for instance, it could be a premium service to VIP customers or be used to issue co-branded card programs at retailers’ premises. This solution remains fully compatible with personalization centers where financial institutions can outsource the personalization for high volumes.

GemSense Instant Issuance has won this accolade thanks to its unique design which guarantees easy deployment, provides remote monitoring and technical support. It is compatible with all cards and personalization machines, giving issuers the freedom to choose the most suitable personalization solution for them.

"We are delighted to receive this award, which demonstrates that our product and services’ strategy goes beyond the traditional payment card business” says Philippe David, vice president, business development, Financial Services “We are committed to driving the market forward with innovative solutions for our customers, which answer their needs for personalization and online authentication, to name a few”.

* European Payments Consulting Association
** European Card Review

About Gemplus
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is a world leading player in the secure card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold billions of smart cards and other secure cards.

Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WLAN, Pay-TV, e-government, and access control.

Gemplus' revenue in 2005 was 939 million Euros.

www.gemplus.com 

For more information:
Marta Bordonada
Gemplus
Tel: +33 (0) 4 4236 4179
e-mail: marta.bordonada@gemplus.com 

Jenny Taylor
Edelman PR
Tel: +44 (0)20 7344 1253
e-mail: jenny.taylor@edelman.com 

©2006 Gemplus. All rights reserved. Gemplus, the Gemplus logo, 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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