proton/erg

Indirectly erg
Norwegian Banks Choose Proton Cards


The card-processing arm of Norway’s major banks has signed an agreement to deploy smart cards using Proton Prisma software from STMicroelectronics, the Switzerland-based semiconductor manufacturer and smart card specialist has announced. The bank-owned Bankenes BetalingsSentral AS, or BBS, initially will use the Proton Prisma BP (basic profile) software for chip cards that will carry the Visa or MasterCard payment application plus the Norwegian domestic debit program known as Bank-Axept. The banks are expected to add other applications later, such as the existing Proton-based Norwegian electronic purse and an identification feature. BBS and its owner banks plan a pilot in the second quarter of 2004 and a rollout in the fourth quarter. Thereafter, banks will replace magnetic stripe debit and credit cards with Proton Prisma smart cards as part of the normal reissuance cycle. By the end of 2006, all of the country’s payment cards should be smart cards complying with the EMV standard developed by Europay, MasterCard and Visa for chip-based credit and debit applications. Other Proton Prisma projects are under way in Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Poland, according to STMicroelectronics, which purchased Proton World International earlier this year.