Spanish savings bank association EURO 6000 has contracted with Germany's Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) for the supply of "several million" EMV cards over the course of the next three years.
EURO 6000 says it is organising the switch to EMV for all 35 Spanish credit institutions within the association ahead of the 2009 deadline in Spain. The association has selected Munich-based Giesecke & Devrient to supply the lion's share of the new cards.
Santiago Ballesteros, general director of EURO 6000, says: "For a project of this magnitude, it was very important for us to find a partner with the experience and technological leadership who could ensure a speedy and efficient transition to the new technology."
In addition to EMV functionality, Euro 6000 says the new cards will enable member banks to add new applications and there are plans to introduce customer loyalty programmes and authentication functions for online banking.
The cards will be supplied by G&D manufacturing plant in Barcelona, which is the first in Spain to be certified by MasterCard and Visa for production and personalisation of EMV smart cards.