Thales also works in close partnership with a major Oil Company and its partners in the United Arab Emirates, expanding the use of card payments at petrol stations. In all three cases, Thales is supplying its powerful and secure Artema payment terminals, which have been developed to meet multi-application requirements.

As an established provider of secure card payment solutions in Kuwait, the Thales agreement with KNET builds on the companies close partnership over the past ten years. It will see the delivery of 7,500 Artema (Compact, Portable and Mobile) payment terminals over the next three years.

Hasan Akbar at KNET commented: "We are committed to our long-term partnership with Thales which has led to the company becoming our primary supplier of electronic card payment solutions. Since EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) chip card standard is currently being implemented in Kuwait, we plan to complete certification and deployment of all our Thales Artema products, to ensure that we provide our customers with the most secure payment solutions possible."

Thales' agreement with CAC Bank reflects the company's successful entry into the Yemeni market at the end of 2005. The partnership will see Thales deliver 2,000 desktop and mobile Artema terminals over the next year, making Thales the country's top supplier of card payment terminals.

Hafedh F. Mayad the Chairman at CAC Bank said: "The agreement with Thales marks a turning point as The Republic of Yemen enters an era of electronic payment. Thales is one of the biggest and most trusted suppliers of card payment terminals and we look forward to working with them to ensure the success of card transactions in Yemen."

Working with a large oil company in the United Arab Emirates, Thales has developed a new pilot card payment solution specifically for petrol stations in the Middle East. Based on the Artema Compact, the solution will support standard EMV payment, as well as the company's card schemes, such as the fleet and trucker card scheme, which is widely accepted by petrol stations within the region.

Dr. Erskin Blunck, Vice President of Product Marketing at Thales e-Transactions added: "The Middle East is a key market for Thales and the announcement today underpins the increasing presence we have in the region. As the region moves to EMV, we are committed to working closely with our partners and customers to continue to deliver industry-leading solutions drawing upon our extensive EMV experience in Europe."