Mondex Philippines has placed an order with MasterCard for 500,00 multi-function Multos smart cards.
The contract represents the largest single order for Multos cards and follows the December launch by MasterCard and Australia's Keycorp of a cut-price $3 multi-function chip card.
Mondex Philippines says the new multi-function cards are set to become the country's first all-in-one card. Plans are underway to incorporate numerous applications on the card, including: ID, physical site security and access and loyalty programmes. By 2003, Mondex Philippines is forecasting 800,000 cardholders, 500 top-up stations and 25,000 terminals within the city of Metro-Manila.
MasterCard International says it expects to have 10 million chip cards circulating in Asia/Pacific by 2003. The card payment firm says the Mondex Philippines purchase will be followed by similar announcements from major financial institutions across the region in the coming weeks.
The latest order comes hard on the heels of February's launch in Korea of smart cards supporting both Mondex Electronic Cash and MasterCard's M/Chip Credit applications.