By joining ACT Canada, Aconite reinforces its commitment to the Canadian market and local Issuers who are looking to introduce Chip and PIN (EMV) cards and extend their portfolios to include contactless and prepaid cards.

Aconite helps Issuers to understand the challenges and operational impacts of moving from a magnetic stripe to Chip and PIN card base, and offers solutions that enable a rapid and cost-effective migration to the EMV standard with minimal disruption to existing operations.

Aconite's product approach is based on bolt-on solutions, enabling banks, processors and financial institutions to quickly benefit from the enhanced risk management and cardholder service capabilities offered by Chip and PIN technology. Through Aconite's Smart PrePaid solution Issuers can go on to exploit their EMV investment further by using the same infrastructure to rapidly enter new contactless and prepaid card markets, such as transit and retail.

Catherine Johnston, president and CEO at Advanced Card Technologies (ACT) Canada, said, "We are pleased to welcome on-board a company of Aconite's calibre; with the latest advancements in prepaid and contactless technologies. Our market will benefit from Aconite's expert knowledge and experience of the cards industry."

Patrick Regester, EVP Sales and Marketing at Aconite said, "Canada is a key market for Aconite; having already been involved with the Interac Association and a number of banks during the initial stages of the Canadian EMV migration, we look to support the market in the full roll out and exploitation of EMV's capabilities post the Kitchener-Waterloo trial. Membership of ACT Canada will enable us to keep up-to-date with developments in the local market, and provide us with a forum to reach out to Issuers who are either migrating to EMV, or looking to expand the card portfolio using innovative prepaid and contactless technologies."