The Netherlands-based bank plans to roll out this initial order of handheld security tokens to a segment of its six million 'e-purse' smart card holders in order to carry out device independent online banking. The platform independent Digipass 800 eliminates the need for a smart card reader and software for any smart card holder says Vasco.

Bert Willems of Rabobank says the technology will enable the bank to introduce and promote additional banking services to any of its smart card holders who receive a Digipass 800.

"We will be marketing the Digipass 800 to our entire smart card customer base," says Willems. "And because the Digipass 800 uses the information stored on the Rabobank smart card to personalise the device, we can standardise our entire infrastructure around smart cards as the primary means of establishing a unique electronic identity with our customers - saving us time, effort, and money and making life even easier for our customers."

The single contract for three hundred thousand Digipass 800 represents the largest initial order of Digipass authentication and digital signature devices in Vasco's history.

The company is also engaging in commercial partnerships with leading smart card developers and issuers, including financial services companies. Vasco has established the first of these partnerships with Proton World, comprising American Express, Banksys, ERG, Interpay, and Visa. Proton World licensees have issued a market-leading 62 million smart cards, and the two companies are jointly marketing a Proton-compatible version of the Digipass 800 to the organisation's worldwide base of e-purse smart cards.

Jan Valcke, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Vasco, says: "We expect other banks around the world, both from our customer base of more than 150 banks, as well as new customers, to select the Digipass 800 as an easy and cost-effective way to leverage their install bases of smart cards to promote additional banking services to their existing and future customers."