Datacard Group Reaches Milestone in Providing Complete Solutions for Smart Card Programs; Seamless Solutions Simplify Transition to Smart Cards

Business Wire, Nov 15, 2005

PARIS -- Datacard Group, the world leader in secure ID and card personalization solutions, announced today at CARTES 2005 that it has surpassed 100 complete smart card issuance solutions implementations worldwide. These simple and scalable solutions, which are designed to make smart cards as easy to issue as magnetic stripe cards, have been widely embraced by issuers of EMV(TM) financial cards, government passport and ID cards, GSM telecommunications, healthcare IDs and transit cards.

Issuers who want to retain control of their project schedules and keep their cardholder data in house have looked to Datacard Group for simplified, plug-and-play smart card issuance solutions as an alternative to creating expensive, custom infrastructures. Built on issuers' existing magnetic stripe issuance infrastructure, these field-proven smart card issuance solutions protect their investments by using open standards and scalable designs to easily accommodate growing card programs.

"We recognize that the path to implementation doesn't need to be complex," said Neil Crocker, vice president of marketing for Datacard Group. "A modest pilot infrastructure can easily be expanded as the smart card program grows and becomes more dynamic."

In addition to the smart card software and hardware, Datacard Group smart card experts skilled in planning, design, applications development, implementation and training are the other critical elements of the Datacard(R) solution. With a service presence in 120 countries worldwide, skilled resources are available after implementation for ongoing maintenance, system optimization and consultation.

Datacard Group offers the world's best-selling secure ID and card personalization solutions. The company's portfolio includes systems for high-volume card issuance, card delivery, secure ID issuance and passport production, plus extensive service and supply offerings. Datacard Group serves customers in more than 120 countries (www.datacard.com).