Under the agreement, Gemalto has acquired Keycorp's smartcard business assets, IP portfolio, trademarks and Multos Limited - the company that operates the remote activation service and high-security facility at the centre of the Multos security architecture.

Gemalto takes over Keycorp's implementation of the Multos smart card operating system, the Multos brand, the associated patents and the key management authority (KMA) which manages card activations worldwide.

Gemalto says around 40 Multos staff will join its operations, mainly in Australia and the UK.

The European firm predicts the acquisition will contribute over EUR15 million of annual revenues, with over half coming from Asia.

Philippe Cambriel, EVP, secure transactions, Gemalto, says: "For the high-end and multi-application segments of EMV payment cards, Multos fully complements our Java product and services range to provide a comprehensive portfolio. It extends our base of blue chip banking customers, and also brings a highly recognised secure post-issuance service for banking applications, with proven efficiency, scalability and value."

Sydney-based Keycorp teamed with Hitachi and Mondex to buy the UK subsidiaries of Stepnexus - the previous owner of the Multos multi-application smart card operating system - in April.