Texas Instruments Incorporated (NYSE: TXN; TI) today announced that its high-frequency ISO/IEC 14443 microprocessor- based payment card inlay has achieved certification from MasterCard International for use in its PayPass contactless payment program in North America.
TI's contactless payment technology has been certified for all three components of MasterCard PayPass conformity requirements, including Card Type Approvals CTA-1 (analog performance), CTA-2 (digital and functional performance), and CAST (Compliance Assessment Security Testing).
Capitalizing on its fully-integrated semiconductor design and manufacturing capabilities, TI's certified solution incorporates a secure, low-power microprocessor with an embedded PayPass application and a small-size radio frequency antenna, into a thin, PVC pre-laminate sheet that can be easily integrated into standard card manufacturing production processes. TI's inlay is small enough to enable four-line embossing, while continuing to support the four centimeter read range requirements of PayPass.
"Issuing banks are focused on providing the highest quality contactless payment cards to their customers," said Matt Smoczynski, director of marketing, Perfect Plastic Printing. "Perfect Plastic looks forward to adding this solution to our growing portfolio of contactless card products."
"Component level conformance approval is important for both the contactless card product certification and manufacturing processes. Component testing reduces the need for integrated card makers to duplicate testing efforts. As a result, they can focus more energy on the product certification and manufacturing efficiency requirements of their card-issuer customers," said Erik Michielsen, director of RFID and M2M research at ABI Research.
Texas Instruments is delivering its PayPass inlays to card manufacturers, including Perfect Plastic Printing, who are creating credit and debit cards for MasterCard issuing banks. TI's secure microprocessor has been optimally designed to meet the needs of the contactless payment infrastructure for the North American market. As the contactless payment industry continues to grow, TI will be offering a range of antenna and inlay designs for a variety of payment devices, including cards, key fobs, and other form factors.