From now on, the high-tech manufacturing center will provide payment card personalization in addition to its existing services, and operate as the main personalization center for Central and Eastern Europe. This certification enables G&D to establish itself as a full-service provider of payment cards in Eastern Europe, covering the entire value chain from card fabrication and personalization to delivery to the end customer.

"Now that we have achieved MasterCard and Visa certification, we will be able to export part of G&D's personalization expertise to the Nitra plant, which will help us to meet the needs of our Eastern European customers even better than before," says Franz Sziljer, Group Senior Vice President and Head of Operations Cards & Services at G&D. Certified compliance with MasterCard and Visa requirements reflects the high security standards implemented at the plant. "We can use the lettershop adjoining the Nitra plant to deliver the personalized payment cards directly to the end customers," adds Franz Sziljer.

The Nitra plant has been personalizing SIM cards for Eastern European mobile network service providers since it opened in 2006. The smart card production facility, which is equipped with all the latest technology, currently has an output of 205 million card bodies per year. Of these, approximately 130 million are SIM cards. The local workforce has more than doubled since 2006, and now stands at over 500 employees. Other products manufactured at the Slovakian plant, in addition to SIM cards and smart cards for electronic payment applications, include identity cards and healthcare cards.