PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Dec. 16, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last week at the Smart Card Alliance 2014 Member Meeting in Orlando, Fla., Alliance members from every market across the Americas learned about the latest developments impacting the smart card industry including: the U.S. migration to EMV chip payments technology; mobile payments; data breaches and security; strong authentication; and transit open payments and mobile ticketing.
"Security and privacy have become top priorities across every major market in the U.S. and, as a result, we're seeing an increased demand and accelerated implementations of smart card-based devices and applications," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "The Member Meeting provides a forum for our entire membership to gain perspectives on, and be inspired by, the varied and innovative ways that smart card technology is being utilized across markets, as well as to collaborate on ways to expand use of the technology in the future."
Industry Council Recognition
The event was also an opportunity for the Smart Card Alliance to celebrate the many achievements of its industry councils – Access Control, Health and Human Services, Identity, Mobile and NFC, Payments, and Transportation – and member companies at a special awards gala on Dec. 8. One of the awards included the 2014 Honor Roll, recognizing individual members and top contributors in each of the industry councils whose commitment greatly assisted the Alliance in fulfilling its mission.
Member-led and driven, the Smart Card Alliance industry councils have made significant contributions to the smart card industry through publishing education and outreach material for different markets, hosting webinars and workshops, developing industry positions on key government and private initiatives, and establishing relationships with related industry groups. The results of the councils' work are helping to drive smart card implementations in the U.S. and providing authoritative educational material for both the U.S. and international smart card markets.
"I thank all of our Smart Card Alliance council members for taking time out of their busy work lives to contribute to many Alliance projects throughout the year," said Vanderhoof. "Their dedication has led to the creation of valuable educational resources that are helping to move the industry forward."
The 2014 Honor Roll was compiled based on council leadership, project leadership, project participation and meeting participation from July 2013 through June 2014. Individuals recognized were:
- Access Control Council. Chair Lars Suneborn, Smart Card Alliance (formerly Identiv), and top contributors Salvatore D'Agostino, IDmachines; Steve Rogers, IQ Devices; and Adam Shane, AMAG Technology.
- Health and Human Services Council. Former Chair Michael Magrath, DrFirst (formerly Gemalto), and top contributors David Batchelor, LifeMed ID, Inc.; Daniel Panboon, LifeMed ID, Inc.; and Morgan Richard, XTec, Inc.
- Identity Council. Chair Bryan Ichikawa, Deloitte & Touche, and top contributors Salvatore D'Agostino, IDmachines; Frazier Evans, Booz Allen Hamilton; and Lars Suneborn, Smart Card Alliance (formerly Identiv).
- Mobile and NFC Council. Chair Sadiq Mohammed, MasterCard, and top contributors Maarten Bron, UL; Mike English, Heartland Payment Systems; Sree Swaminathan, First Data Corporation; and Tom Zalewski, CorFire.
- Payments Council. Co-Chairs Jack Jania, Gemalto and Oliver Manahan, MasterCard, and top contributors Philip Andreae, Oberthur Technologies; Deborah Baxley, Capgemini; Jose Correa, NXP Semiconductors; and Mike English, Heartland Payment Systems.
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Transportation Council. Chair Jerry Kane, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and former Chair Craig Roberts, Incomm (formerly UTA), and top contributors Steven Grant, LTK Engineering Services; Amy Linden, MTA New York City Transit; and Mike Nash, Xerox.
For more information on Smart Card Alliance Industry Councils, and the complete Council Honor Roll for 2014, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/activities-councils-member-recognition-2014/.
Center of Excellence Organizations
The Smart Card Alliance also awarded organizations with the Smart Card Alliance Center of Excellence designation at the gala. The member program recognizes an elite mix of member companies who, each year, reach the highest level of active participation in the Alliance by having made outstanding contributions in the form of providing valuable time, talent and resources across a wide mix of Alliance activities.
This year, Center of Excellence recipients are: American Express; CPI Card Group; Cubic Transportation Systems; Deloitte & Touche, LLP; Discover Financial Services; Gemalto; Giesecke & Devrient; Ingenico; MasterCard; NXP Semiconductors; Oberthur Technologies; Softcard; TSYS; UL; Visa, Inc.; XTec, Inc.; Xerox.
For more information about the Smart Card Alliance and its past year achievements, read the Smart Card Alliance 2014 Annual Review, which summarizes the programs, products and services offered by the Alliance and its members. It is available at http://www.smartcardalliance.org/publications-2014-annual-review/.
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. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.