ACI Worldwide, Compaq and Gemplus International SA have launched a smart card solution for medium-sized local banks. Available now, the solution is designed to be complementary to the new Hanis system.
The solution includes servers, hardware cryptographic processors from Compaq, software from ACI and chip cards from Gemplus, as well as pre- and post-contract support from all three companies.
The EMV Easy solution has been developed for banks issuing up to 750 000 credit or debit cards, and is able to support up to 20 transactions per second and three million transactions per month.
Chris Goulding, manager of finance industry solutions, Compaq EMEA, says the team will target banks such as African Bank and others of a similar size.
The partners say the new solution is the industry`s first low-cost "out-of-the-box" smart card solution covering new card business or migration from old standards. "It will enable smaller banks to achieve compliance with the strict requirements set out by Europay, MasterCard and Visa in their migration plan," he explains.
Goulding says the smart cards are ideal for Africa as authorisation can be done offline, making a First World telecommunication network unnecessary. The partners plan to use SA as a launch pad from which to enter other sub-Saharan countries.
The data on the cards can be personalised so a bank will have full control over client specification and credit levels on the cards.
Additional features such as loyalty schemes can also be loaded onto the 2KB card and Goulding says this flexibility will also make the card more attractive to banks.
"ACI, Compaq and Gemplus have come together to address a major segment of the card payment industry that was in danger of being left behind," says Richard Crookston, ACI Worldwide`s programme director for EMV Easy.
"We have developed a highly-targeted solution that will guide medium-sized banks through mandatory migration, and reduce the learning curve by bringing together skilled teams from each of the three companies to educate and assist bank staff in this complex arena.
"By focusing on low-cost, simplicity and speed of implementation as core features, customers can migrate sooner than they would otherwise have expected. We have adopted an out-of-the-box approach enabling us to provide the best price/performance ratio available today."
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