As the first digital security company to join the MasterCard M/Chip Accredited Third Party program, this accreditation officially endorses Gemalto's consulting capabilities and its vendor-independent services in contact and contactless deployments worldwide.

Smart payment cards are widely deployed to reduce fraud and facilitate a more convenient payment experience. Gemalto's consulting service is in particular designed to expedite the adoption of EMV and PayPassTM smart card programs, by delivering world-class migration guidance and technical expertise to acquirers and issuers. For this accreditation process, Gemalto consultants' track record in supporting contact and contactless rollouts was evaluated against MasterCard's requirements.

"MasterCard is extremely pleased that Gemalto has met our stringent criteria," commented Christian Delporte, Head of Chip Engineering at MasterCard Worldwide. "The M/Chip Accredited Third Party program enables MasterCard to make high quality consulting available to its members. With Gemalto's strong global presence, our members can benefit from knowledge sharing anywhere in the world."

"The MasterCard endorsement is a strong vote of confidence in Gemalto's consulting expertise," added Philippe Cambriel, Executive Vice-President, Gemalto. "Key to attaining this accreditation was our proven track record from a decade of experience providing consulting services to over 130 institutions in 52 countries, and it recognized our ability to closely support our customers in successfully launching innovative products and services, and delivering on their promise of paying anytime anywhere."