ACG Awarded Two MasterCard® PayPass(TM) Certifications


Walluf, 22.09.2006 - ACG Identification Technologies, a leading component and technology supplier in the smart card and RFID markets, announces that it has achieved MasterCard® PayPass(TM) certification for its ISO/IEC 14443 contactless payment card inlay. This Card Type Approval covers the analog, digital and functional performance of ACG's full embossing prelaminated contactless inlay. ACG also announces that it has achieved MasterCard Card Quality Management (CQM) certification for its production site, which covers quality management of the production process. Both certifications are effective as of July 15, 2006.

MasterCard PayPass Card Quality Management (CQM) certification ensures products manufactured at ACG's manufacturing site will reliably and consistently perform according to MasterCard PayPass standards. CQM certification is mandatory in order to supply MasterCard products and components to banks or their suppliers.

MasterCard Card Type Approval for ACG's ISO/IEC 14443 contactless payment card full four-line embossing prelaminated inlay ensures that the product is compliant with all the technical requirements of the MasterCard PayPass specification. In particular, this certification involves formal testing of the electromagnetic characteristics and software communications protocol of the product against PayPass ISO/IEC 14443 requirements. Approval also requires formal testing of the application interface against PayPass requirements.

The prelaminate is the most critical component of a MasterCard PayPass card and the one that provides the contactless functionality. It consists of a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip connected to an antenna. ACG leveraged its unique expertise in RFID technology and cost-effective manufacturing processes to develop its high performance PayPass compliant prelaminate for bank card manufacturers who wish to expand their product portfolio to include contactless payment cards. ACG's prelaminates are based on the highest quality standards and are considered to be highly flexible among leading card manufacturers, especially in terms of form factors and sheet sizes.

By using ACG's pre-certified PayPass prelaminate, card manufacturers can quickly and cost-effectively develop a contactless payment card solution for MasterCard bank card issuers. In fact, using a pre-certified inlay greatly simplifies the MasterCard PayPass qualification of the final card product by ensuring the correct analog, digital and functional performance.

About ACG

ACG Identification Technologies is an independent component and technology supplier serving the entire value chain of smart card and RFID-based systems. Headquartered in Walluf (Germany), ACG has 21 locations throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. ACG is an ASSA ABLOY Group company.

About ASSA ABLOY ITG (ITG)

ASSA ABLOY Identification Technologies is focused on current and emerging solutions within the ID management and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) markets and is one of the world's leading suppliers of RFID components, products, solutions, and services.

Typical applications that we serve are national ID and e-passport programs, physical and logical access control, supply chain management, animal tagging, financial transactions, transport, and various industrial and manufacturing applications.
Comprised of a dynamic group of companies including ACG Identification Technologies, Sokymat and OMNIKEY, ITG innovation spans the value chain of smart card technology and RFID systems delivering identification technology products. ITG's comprehensive range of products include RFID transponders, contact and contactless smart cards and readers, as well as value-added services to developers and integrators of identification management systems and solutions.

The SmartWorldAcademy in Prague uniquely positions ITG at the forefront of the secure identification industry. ITG's headquarters are located in Walluf, Germany.

ITG is part of the Global Technologies Division of the ASSA ABLOY Group, the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of locking solutions listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange with some 30,000 employees and annual sales of about EUR 3 billion. For more information, please visit www.assaabloy.com.

For further information, please contact:
Katja Dienz
ACG Identification Technologies GmbH
Am Klingenweg 6A
65396 Walluf
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)6123 791 205
Fax: +49 (0)6123 791 5205
Email: katja.dienz@acg.de

Pier Costa
Wise Media S.p.A.
Via Lepetit, 4
20124 Milan
Italy
Phone: +39 02 8903 4111
Fax: +39 02 6738 8322
Email: Pier@wisemedia.it

All Topics