Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announces it has been chosen by Garanti Bank, a leading credit card issuer in Turkey, for the deployment of the bank's brand new Bonus Trink program.
The company provided Garanti Bank with its single-chip EMV contactless banking cards and Dexxis Central Issuance solution that enables in-house personalization. Gemalto also supplied consultancy services to assist the bank in the product specification. The agreement involves an initial order of 300,000 units, which are being deployed.
The Gemalto card features a wide range of value added applications comprising traditional EMV and contactless payment, Garanti Bank's Bonus loyalty scheme and the Mifare capability that enables e-ticketing. It allows Garanti Bank customers to enjoy the speed and convenience of contactless payment at 4,000 acceptance points and in some 20 retailer chains. These include major fast food restaurants and supermarkets all across Turkey, as well as movie theaters and entertainment centers. In addition, Bonus TRINK cardholders may use their banking card as an e-ticket for public transportation in major Turkish cities or on shuttle boats and sea taxis across Bosphorus. They can also benefit from the Bonus loyalty program in both contact and contactless modes.
The high-end dual-interface Optelio Contactless card hosts both the EMV and contactless payment functionalities on the same microprocessor. It is fully compatible with Garanti Bank's infrastructure. This card is able to process an EMV contactless transaction in less than 500 milliseconds, which makes it one of the fastest in the market.
"We selected Gemalto's card for its remarkable speed," commented Mrs. Reha Emekli, Vice President Garanti Technology-Payment Systems. "This is critical when hopping on a bus at rush hours or paying for purchases at retailers' when a flock of shoppers stand in line at cashdesks."
"Through this new contract, Garanti Bank is placing its trust in Gemalto's technological expertise yet again," added Philippe Cambriel, Executive Vice-President of the Secure Transactions Business Unit at Gemalto. "We appreciate this strong mark of confidence, which rewards our commitment to innovation in the banking sector. Gemalto has been a major partner of Garanti Bank since 2000, as we already provided the bank with several million multi-application smart cards. We are proud to support this remarkable new deployment, as EMV contactless is gaining momentum in Europe.
Separately, Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), the world leader in digital security, today announces its entire range of MagIC3 Point-Of-Sale (POS) terminals received certification by an independent certified testing laboratory in accordance with MasterCard International Payment Terminal Security program. This security evaluation applies to the TCP/IP protocol suite. The product family incorporates the MagIC Open&Sec technology running on LinuxTM and offers very high-speed transactions, as well as unrivalled flexibility of connection and communication, without compromising security. The Open&Sec Linux-based operating system leverages IP technology and accelerates the development of new value-added solutions.
The objective of the MasterCard International Payment Terminal Security program for IP-enabled POS devices is to ensure the necessary level of protection for transaction and cardholder data at merchants that use equipment that support the TCP/IP protocol suite. The security evaluation verifies that POS devices meet the relevant MasterCard requirements in terms of confidentiality, integrity and communicating parties' authentication, with a 3-year validity period.
"Achieving certification with the MasterCard International Payment Terminal Security program demonstrates Gemalto's commitment to providing a high level of security and service quality for the complete MagIC³ terminals product range," commented Michel Leger, senior vice president e-payment at Gemalto. "This will open up new market opportunities and confirms Gemalto's strong offer in the field of payment terminals worldwide. In particular, the MagIC³ family has proven an instant success in challenging, competitive markets such as India."
Since the commercial launch in November 2006, the MagIC³ product range has been particularly well received in emerging markets. The MagIC³ full range certification confirms the orientation Gemalto has taken with the MCI PTS certification of X1000 GPRS, the previous range of payment terminals.