Smart Card Alliance Cites Contactless Payments Council’s First Year Outreach and Education Achievements

Smart Card Alliance Cites Contactless Payments Council’s First Year Outreach and Education Achievements

Council announces first year results, new officers and plans for 2007

Princeton Junction, NJ, April 16, 2007–With leading banks issuing millions of contactless credit and debit cards, and retailers increasingly accepting them, the Smart Card Alliance Contactless Payments Council took on the role of educator in its first year, providing resources on every aspect of the technology. The Council today announced its first year results, as well as the newly elected officers and plans for the upcoming year.

First-year Council membership exceeded expectations, with participation from over 80 individuals from 39 organizations, including payment card issuers, technology providers and retailers. In May 2006, the Council launched a Retailer and Issuer Advisory Group that too attracted excellent participation and played an active role in Council projects.

Hundreds of people attended the Council’s highly successful webinar in February 2006 on “Contactless Payments: A New Era of Payment for Retailers.” Further educational resources the Council provided include the contactless payments web resource, found at Contactless Payments Resources, containing up-to-date information and news on contactless payments programs in the United States; a contactless payments “frequently asked questions” document; a paper entitled “The Who, What and Why of Contactless Payments”; a paper on contactless payments security; and a research report completed in collaboration with Javelin Strategy and Research, “Contactless Payments: Consumer Attitudes and Acceptance in the United States.”

“Education is a strong Council focus, as it is important that everyone involved understands the value of contactless payments and how it works. The published materials provide a good educational foundation and clear up misconceptions,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “As adoption for this technology continues to grow, 2007 will be an important year for the Council to examine and provide best practices for implementation, and look at alternative uses for the technology.”

In 2007, the Council plans an additional webinar for issuers, merchants, consumers and the media, as well as an increased presence at industry conferences. New educational materials planned include a guide to contactless payments implementation for merchants, and additional web resources. The Council will also focus on an up-and-coming payment method–contactless payment via mobile phone.

The Council elected new officers and steering committee representatives in February. New Contactless Payments Council officers are:

  • Sunil Dewan, First Data Corporation
  • Mohammad Khan, ViVOtech
  • Charles Walton, INSIDE Contactless

2007 steering committee members are:

  • Brian Barrett, PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Deborah Baxley, IBM
  • Jean-Marc Delbecq, VeriFone, Inc.
  • Rod Donnelly, CPI Card Group
  • Rahul Gadkari, Gemalto
  • Greg Garback, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority
  • Jennifer Hale, American Express
  • Paul Legacki, Infineon Technologies
  • Kim Madore, Giesecke & Devrient
  • Ken Moy, MasterCard Worldwide
  • Liane Redford, Visa U.S.A., Inc.
  • Garfield Smith, Oberthur Card Systems

The Contactless Payments Council is open to participation from any organization that joins the Alliance and the Council. For more information, please visit https://www.securetechalliance.org.

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 https://www.securetechalliance.org.