Princeton Junction, NJ, August 6, 2004–The Smart Card Alliance today announced that it would begin accepting nominations for the organization’s Outstanding Smart Card Achievement (OSCA) awards. The Alliance will present three separate OSCAs recognizing those who have significantly impacted and influenced the market for smart cards in North America. The awards will be presented at the Smart Card Alliance Fall Annual Conference on October 18-20, 2004 in San Francisco, California.

This will be the first year that the Smart Card Industry will present an OSCA award to an individual for leadership and accomplishments in the smart card industry. The other two awards will be presented to organizations. Submissions are due by September 17th, 2004. Information on submitting nominations for the awards is at https://www.securetechalliance.org.

Any North American-based organization or individual is eligible to win an OSCA award. The first award category is for end user or issuing organizations which have not only deployed smart card technology throughout their organization or client base, but have also helped boost the industry through outreach and communication to peer organizations about benefits and lessons learned regarding the deployment of smart cards. The second category is for North American supplier organizations, such as product and solution vendors or integrators, which have delivered outstanding solutions for practical use by end users, bringing benefits such as increased operational efficiencies, increased security and/or cost savings. The third award is to an individual who stands out for his or her leadership, vision, support and commitment to the smart card industry in North America.

A judging panel, consisting of North American industry leaders along with individuals from the analyst and media communities, will evaluate the OSCA applications and select the winners. The criteria for evaluation of the organizations include:

• The level of industry outreach and impact
• The success of solution implementations
• The amount and level of benefit the deployment has delivered to the end user community

The criteria for evaluation of the individual will include:

• Years of service
• Outstanding contributions
• Record for contributing to the industry for the general good of the industry as a whole

The nominated smart card applications must meet the following criteria for the organization or individual to be eligible to receive an OSCA:

• The application must use contact smart cards, contactless smart cards, smart chip-based tokens or other similar-functioning integrated circuit devices
• The application must have completed the pilot phase and be in pre-production or production
• The application must have been implemented in the North American marketplace, including Canada, Mexico or the United States

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to accelerate the acceptance 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. For more information please visit https://www.securetechalliance.org.