Axalto (EURONEXT:AXL)(EURONEXT:NL0000400653), the world's leader in microprocessor cards, today launched Instant Issuance, a highly secure end-to-end solution that allows banks to immediately issue personalized EMV (Europay MasterCard Visa) cards directly at their branches, with a design customized on request.
With Instant Issuance, not only do bank customers get their new microprocessor card on the spot, but they can also have a personal picture inserted onto it and choose their card body and PIN code.
Today, the usual process to issue a new EMV card may take up to one week after the customer's request. Now, Instant Issuance allows banks to provide their customers with an EMV card in a few minutes, with the same strong security level and quality of service that traditional personalization centers offer. In particular, this added-value service is a powerful tool for increasing efficiency in managing urgent card requests.
Among Instant Issuance's pioneering features is the option offered to customers to insert a personal picture onto their card. They can also choose the card body among a wide range of attractive background visuals offered by the bank. For customers, this extremely innovative service will contribute to increased satisfaction and added loyalty. For the bank, Instant Issuance helps to generate and increase revenue instantly.
"This new solution by Axalto is designed to help banks make a serious impact, opening up fresh opportunities to boost loyalty with a differentiated offering, " said Bertrand Knopf, banking director at Axalto. "With Instant Issuance, Axalto supports banks in their quest to offer tailor-made services to their clients and give end users a taste of uniqueness."
Separately, Axalto today showcased its two-factor authentication solution Protiva to reinforce confidence in Internet banking. Two-factor authentication greatly enhances Internet banking security by combining something the user has, such as a personal device, and something the user knows, such as a PIN code. With Protiva, Axalto addresses the dual issue of costly user password management and most common identity frauds that proved to be a major barrier to the expansion of banking transactions over the Internet.
Protiva solution delivers a one-time password application implemented onto the very secure and flexible smart card core technology. Protiva solution is plug and play as it does not require any PC footprint nor a complex back end system, making it simple to deploy and very cost effective for banks.
"Traditional authentication solutions based on user ID and static passwords are not sufficiently secure and can be easily hacked, guessed or stolen, resulting in exponential rise in online identity theft. Password problems are also a strong expense line for banks helpdesk as every password-related call triggers an average 12 US dollars cost. With Protiva two-factor authentication solution, Axalto provides banks with an easy-to-deploy and cost effective solution to address those challenges while reinforcing end users' confidence in their on line services." commented Bertrand Knopf, banking director at Axalto.
Axalto's Protiva solution protects the network identity of online users by combining the security strength of smart cards with a one-time password application (a unique 8 digit number created each time a user connects) for secure logon. The smart card stores the application and the secret keys that are used to encrypt and send the one-time password to the bank. An authentication server performs the same cryptographic computation as the smart card device and verifies that the one-time password matches.