8th sept smart card group news SMART CARD NEWS - NEWS ONLINE...

8th sept smart card group news SMART CARD NEWS - NEWS ONLINE Thursday 8th September 2005

BQT names $32.5m client as Monoco
Use of online banking up sharply
Symbol, Intermec settle RFID dispute
Smart Card Alliance establishes Contactless Payments Council
Precise Biometrics acquires Loqware

BQT names $32.5m client as Monoco

Biometric technology provider, BQT Solutions Limited has announced the name of an international client flagged in June for a $32.5 million deal.

The client, UK-based Monoco Limited, "has officially released to the market their Brand Card Payment technology which will have a major impact on the Credit Payment Cards worldwide," said BQT managing director, John Genner. BQT's R&D team has spent over 2 years in working with Monoco Limited on a special component for integration into Monoco's technology. The relationship with Monoco Limited is ongoing as the BQT technical team will work on future technology rollout. The technology involves what is claimed to be the worlds first automated transaction system for retailers to issue and accept Brand Cards at terminals in retail outlets. Each transaction is processed and audited in real-time for retailers to receive a daily record of every valid transaction. When a Brand Card is inserted in a terminal a set of numeric constants are generated, and each numeric constant is a discrete identifier for the card - face - user which combine to form a binary matrix, a precision identifier which validates a card and user in real-time at the server for the cost of a phone call. A facial image is retrieved from the card and displayed on the POS terminal. The fingerprint template is stored in the card and verified by a physical match or a scramble pin pad number, unique to the card holder. There is no name physically on the card which is designed to enhance security if the card is lost or stolen.

Use of online banking up sharply

The use of online banking and credit cards rose sharply during 2004, while number of bank branches and ATM points fell and their use by the public declined, according to the Bank of Israel Banking Supervision Department report for 2004. The expansion of online banking encompasses all high-tech banking services. The number of debit and credit transactions by bank tellers fell 7%, continuing a trend that began in the 1990s. At the same time, the number of requests for information via the Internet rose 48%, compared with the fourth quarter of 2003. Growing use of online banking and computerised telephone directories has led to a decline in the number of ATMs and customer terminals. The Bank of Israel believes that if alternatives are found to cash withdrawals, such as electronic wallets, or other methods based on the inclusion of verification technology in smart cards, they will replace ATMs, and cash withdrawals will be made via communications with customers. Examples are smart identification verification points, attached to customers' PCs, through which they identify themselves and fill their electronic wallets. The Bank of Israel emphasizes that the use of smart cards as electronic wallets is spreading in the West. Seven countries now report their use, and the number of transactions is growing. During 2004, the electronic revolution caused a further drop in the number of bank branches to 951, continuing a trend of several years, and in line with global trends. Paralleling the decline in the number of bank branches, the number of work days at remaining branches has been reduced, with some branches now open only five days a week.

Symbol, Intermec settle RFID dispute

Symbol Technologies Inc. and Intermec Technologies Corp. have settled a dispute over intellectual property for RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, the companies announced Tuesday. Intermec last year sued Matrics Corp., which has since been acquired by Symbol, alleging that it infringed Intermec's RFID patents. Symbol then sued Intermec for patent infringement in March of this year and pulled out of an arrangement in which it supplied Intermec with laser scan engines. After the pullout, Intermec filed another patent suit against Symbol. Both companies make products that use RFID technology, which is being adopted by some companies for point of sale, inventory tracking, and other applications. At the height of the dispute in March, Symbol said Intermec had reserved the right to license its products on discriminatory terms or not at all, a strategy that Symbol believed could thwart broad use of RFID. Under the settlement, each vendor will license technology from the other. Symbol has joined Intermec's Rapid Start RFID licensing program, which gives it access to Intermec technologies including RFID tags and fixed and portable readers. Through the cross-licensing provisions of Rapid Start, Intermec will gain access to Symbol intellectual property, according to a statement by the companies. The cross-licensing agreement covers RFID technology for all markets other than certain transportation-related markets, according to a form Symbol filed Tuesday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Intermec also will move for dismissal of the original suit against Matrics in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, and of a complaint to the U.S. International Trade Commission, according to the filing. Meanwhile, Symbol said it is again willing to sell scan engines to Intermec, though that company has not placed an order for the engines, according to Symbol. The companies also have put all pending and anticipated legal actions on hold for 90 days while they try to work out the intellectual property disputes that remain between them, they said. "We prefer to negotiate rather than to litigate," said Sal Ianuzzi, interim president and chief executive officer of Symbol, on a conference call Tuesday. "Today's agreement was possible because both companies were willing to compromise," Ianuzzi said. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Smart Card Alliance establishes Contactless Payments Council

The Smart Card Alliance announced in a news release the formation of a Contactless Payments Council. The Council will work to facilitate the adoption of contactless payments in the United States through education programs for consumers, merchants and issuers. "Contactless payment is an exciting new consumer payments technology that provides convenience, speed and ease of use to consumers and faster transaction times and increased spending per transaction to issuers and merchants," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "This new council will form one industry voice, including financial payments industry leaders and suppliers and reaching out to involve the merchant community as well. Our goal is to inform and educate the market about the value of contactless payment and work to address misconceptions about the capabilities and security of contactless technology." The Contactless Payments Council's projects will include Web briefings, workshops at trade shows and the development of white papers and case studies. As a first priority, the council will be developing short briefings to address areas that are widely misunderstood - including how contactless payments deliver additional benefits for payment transactions, what security features are designed into the new contactless payment programs, and what the differences are between RFID technology and the new technologies and methods used to implement secure contactless payments. The co-chairs of the council are Francine Dubois of Oberthur Card Systems, Wendy Humphrey of First Data Corp. and Mohammad Khan of ViVOtech. The council will be managed by a steering committee composed of a cross section of the financial payments industry and contactless smart chip technology vendors. Steering committee participants include representatives from American Express, Atmel Corp., Axalto, First Data Corp., Gemplus, IBM, JCB International Credit Card Co., MasterCard International, Oberthur Card Systems, SMART System Technologies Inc., VeriFone, Visa USA, and ViVOtech Inc.

Precise Biometrics acquires Loqware

Precise Biometrics AB (publ) has acquired 94% of the outstanding shares of the Swedish company Loqware Sweden AB. The payment has been made through a directed share issue. The aim is to acquire the remaining company shares as soon as possible. The deal will enable Precise Biometrics to further strengthen its biometric security solutions business.

Loqware has a strong patent portfolio, which is based on the i-Loq® technology it has developed. The technology uses biometry as a method of access and can be licensed as a component for electronic locking of computers, telephones and buildings. The company also has a product family consisting of the encrypted harddisk LoqDrive and the USB memory storage device LoqFlash. The business started up in 1999 and its head office is located in Gothenburg. The company, which will be a subsidiary of Precise Biometrics AB, will keep its own brand name and Lars Grundin will be responsible for operating Loqware Sweden AB.

The acquisition of 94% of the shares took place through the new issue the same day of 1,053,750 shares in Precise Biometrics AB to Lars Grundin with a total value of approximately SEK 8.3 million. The new shares correspond to approximately 1.7 percent of the total number of shares after the new issue.

"We are extremely proud to be yet another new member to join the Precise Biometrics family", said Lars Grundin, principal owner and founder of Loqware. "With our licenses, products and patent we will contribute to further sharpening Precise Biometrics' competitive edge in the international market."

"The acquisition of Loqware allows Precise Biometrics to complete its core business in the area of fingerprint through now being able to offer licensing of techniques for electronic locking and data storage products with biometric login area. In addition, Precise Biometrics will be acquiring a powerful launch pad into the Chinese market, which is completely in line with our international efforts this year with breakthroughs in both the Thai and Japanese markets," says Christer Bergman, President and CEO of Precise Biometrics AB.




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