Three-fold certification recognizes the reliability of Gemalto’s banking solutions

Amsterdam, The Netherlands, March 22, 2007–Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), a world leader in digital security, today announces successful completion of American Express, MasterCard and Visa certifications of its Johannesburg-based banking facility for the personalization of magnetic-stripe and EMV (Europay MasterCard Visa) smart cards. It is intended to locally support the roll-out of EMV banking cards across South Africa, scheduled to start in Q3 this year. Gemalto has already secured an exclusive contract with a major South African bank for EMV personalization.

The Gemalto Johannesburg-based facility has been personalizing SIM cards for seven years, with a current capacity of 10 million units per year. It is now expanding into personalization of banking cards to boost its local activities in the financial sector. Gemalto already supplies banking cards in many African countries and is now adding the local personalization capability to address the emerging EMV market in the region.

“Gemalto is committed to locally supporting South African banks in their migration to chip-enabled cards,” commented Xavier Chanay, president Africa, Middle East, CIS at Gemalto. “Our brand new local personalization capability will allow us to operate closer to our bank customers and therefore, serve them with increased responsiveness.”

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital security with pro forma 2006 annual revenues of €1.7 billion, operations in about 100 countries and over 10,000 employees including 1,500 R&D engineers. In a world where the digital revolution is increasingly transforming our lives, Gemalto’s solutions are designed to make personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.
Gemalto provides end-to-end digital security solutions, from the development of software applications through design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and tokens to the management of deployment services for its customers. More than a billion people worldwide use the company’s products and services for telecommunications, financial services, e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights management, IT security, mass transit and many other applications.

As the use of Gemalto’s software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus. For more information please visit http://www.gemalto.com.

Contacts

Gemalto
Aline Borne
T: +33 (0)1 55 01 51 05
M: +33 (0)6 16 29 87 04
aline.borne@gemalto.com

TBWA/Corporate
Maxence Naouri
T: +33 (0) 1 49 09 26 95
M: +33 (0) 6 82 78 00 53
maxence.naouri@tbwa-corporate.com