PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Oct. 21, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Smart Card Alliance members from markets across the Americas met in Phoenix, Ariz. for the recent Member Meeting where they learned about the latest developments impacting the smart card industry. Cross-industry topics included: 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 are top priorities across every major market in the U.S. 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 our membership with the opportunity 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 reception on Oct. 5. Among the awards announced was the 2015 Honor Roll, recognizing individual members and top contributors in each of the industry councils whose contributions in the past year 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.
“Thank you to 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 2015 Honor Roll was compiled based on council leadership, project leadership, project participation and meeting participation from July 2014 through June 2015. The top contributors recognized were:
- Access Control Council. Chair David Helbock, XTec, Inc., and top contributors Salvatore D’Agostino, IDmachines; Tony Damalas, Stanley Security Solutions; Frazier Evans, Booz Allen Hamilton; and Steve Rogers, IQ Devices.
- Health and Human Services Council. Chair Morgan Richard, XTec, Inc., and top contributors David Batchelor, LifeMed ID, Inc.; and John Ekers, ABnote.
- Identity Council. Chair Bryan Ichikawa, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and top contributors Peter Cattaneo, Identiv; Salvatore D'Agostino, IDmachines; Frazier Evans, Booz Allen Hamilton; Gary Moore, XTec, Inc.; and Chad Sine, SAIC.
- Mobile and NFC Council. Chair Sadiq Mohammed, MasterCard, and top contributors Deborah Baxley, Capgemini; Jeff Fonseca, NXP Semiconductors; and Sridher Swaminathan, First Data.
- Payments Council. Co-Chairs Jack Jania, Gemalto, and Oliver Manahan, MasterCard, and top contributors Philip Andreae, Oberthur Technologies; Deborah Baxley, Capgemini; Mike English, Heartland Payment Systems; and Sridher Swaminathan, First Data.
- Transportation Council. Chair Jerry Kane, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) and top contributors Mike Dinning, U.S. Department of Transportation/Volpe Center; Steven Grant, Aberdeen Management Group; Mike Nash, Xerox; and Craig Roberts, InComm.
For more information on Smart Card Alliance Industry Councils, and the complete Council Honor Roll for 2015, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/alliance-industry-councils/.
Center of Excellence Organizations
The Smart Card Alliance also awarded organizations with the Smart Card Alliance Center of Excellence designation at the event. The COE member program recognizes an elite mix of member organizations who, each year, reach the highest level of active participation in the Alliance by having made outstanding contributions in the form of organization-wide leadership of time, talent and resources across a wide mix of Alliance activities.
This year, Center of Excellence recipients are: Advanced Card Systems; American Express; Consult Hyperion; CPI Card Group; Cubic Transportation Systems; Discover Financial Services; First Data; Gemalto; Giesecke & Devrient; Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Services; HID Global; Identification Technology Partners; Ingenico Group, North America; INSIDE Secure; MasterCard Worldwide; NXP Semiconductors; Oberthur Technologies; TSYS; Underwriters Laboratories (UL); Visa; Xerox; and XTec, Inc.
For more information about the Smart Card Alliance Center of Excellence, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/activities-center-of-excellence/.
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.