The Crédit Agricole group is market leader in full-service retail banking in France and one of the largest banks in Europe. Gemalto is the first to market the highly secure Optelio contactless EMV banking card certified by GIE-CB ("Groupement d'Intérêt Economique - Carte Bancaire") with optimized EMV risk management features for the French market.

The deployment opens the door to the world of contactless payment for all of Crédit Agricole's customers. Cardholders can enjoy a new payment experience by simply waving or tapping their card in front of a contactless reader at the point-of-sale for purchases under 20 euros, while transactions above that amount will require a PIN confirmation. The technology saves time for both merchants and cardholders and greatly reduces cash handling.

The card also features additional protections that reinforce security and complement the traditional EMV payment functionality. These added features provide improved flexibility while maintaining a high level of risk management for Crédit Agricole.

"Leveraging their global expertise in EMV and contactless rollouts worldwide, the Gemalto team put forward the right product at the right time for our program in France," according to Crédit Agricole.

"With this new project, Crédit Agricole is keen to offer their customers secure and reliable payment solutions, while benefiting from the latest technological innovations," added Gabrielle Bugat, Senior Vice President, Gemalto. "Contactless is one of the key cooperation and development areas for 2012, both for Gemalto and Crédit Agricole."