PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Jan. 23, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Smart Card Alliance Latin America (SCALA) is bringing its educational EMV Tour conference series next week to Costa Rica, where it will hold a two-day meeting to provide financial and government leaders with education and discussion on smart card technology and its many uses, including EMV chip card and open transit payments. Event details are as follows:
Event: EMV Tour – Central America
When: Jan. 28 and 29, 2014
Where: Real InterContinental Hotel in San José, Costa Rica
Registration: http://bit.ly/1f472vt
Topics: According to Edgar Betts, associate director of the SCALA chapter, "This EMV Tour meeting will provide financial and government leaders with the necessary foundation to best take advantage of opportunities that come with Central American countries' transition to EMV chip card payments, such as convergence with government identity programs, mobile payments and open-loop transit payments."
Tuesday, Jan. 28 Agenda: SCALA will offer an educational course on "The Fundamentals of Smart Card Technology," the technology behind EMV chip cards. The full-day course will include an overview of the state of the smart card industry, the basic components of smart card technology and the applications used throughout the global marketplace.
The same day, SCALA will host an invitation-only meeting to brief government and financial officials on possibilities and opportunities for the establishment of an open-loop payment system for transportation in Costa Rica. Such a system would enable public transportation riders to pay for fares directly with their EMV chip payment card.
Wednesday, Jan. 29 Agenda: A full day of sessions, discussions and panels on: successful implementations of EMV contact and contactless technologies for retail and transit payments in other parts of Central America and Europe; possibilities for convergence of EMV chip cards with digital signature, transportation and identity cards; and opportunities to use smart card technology for mobile and remote payments.
About EMV Tour: SCALA's EMV Tour conferences around Latin America and the Caribbean are part of an educational initiative aimed to fill the need for impartial resources and information about the steps required and the options for migration to EMV chip payments. For more information, visit http://www.sca-la.org.
About the Smart Card Alliance Latin America (SCALA)
The Smart Card Alliance Latino America (SCALA) is a chapter organization of the Smart Card Alliance working to stimulate the use, understanding, adoption and widespread application of smart card technology in Latin America and Caribbean. SCALA achieves its goals through the use of specific projects such as: tri-lingual education programs, market research, advocacy, white papers, industry relations and open forums to keep Latin American chapter member organizations connected to industry leaders and innovative thought.
About the Smart Card Alliance
The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.
Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.