New York, NY, August 16, 2000–The 8th Annual Meeting covers two full days, September 27–28, with the mornings devoted to technology issues and status and the afternoons devoted to business, marketing and policy issues. In each session, the Forum’s unique blends of individual talks, panel discussions and opportunities to network with the key players in the industry offers a rich experience to all those participating. Some of them include: Keith Benson, Funge Systems International; Jerry Archer, Senior VP of Fidelity and Phillipe Tartavull, COO of Oberthur Smart Cards USA. Educators will provide additional commentary, and consumer advocates concerned with technology, Mobile eCommerce Appliances and Business Case Models covering marketing, policy and business issues.

Scheduled panels and presentations to address a number of topics include: WAP, a panel on Mobile eCommerce Appliances-Science Fiction comes to life; Marketing and Business Models; Business Case Model covering Marketing and Business Issues; Marketing Issues Panel; Identity Panel Discussion and a Keynote Panel on Risk.

“This year’s 8th Annual Meeting will include a number of high-level discussions of the key issues and concerns that focus on the role of smart card technology in this emerging market,” said Donna Farmer, president and CEO of The Smart Card Forum. “Due to the broad range of content and viewpoints that will be focused and discussed, we are expecting our biggest turn-out yet”.

The Smart Card Forum’s Educational Institute on September 25 and 26 will precede the 8th Annual Meeting, also in San Francisco, CA. The Smart Card Forum Educational Institute is a non-profit educational organization designed to help accelerate the widespread acceptance of smart card technology. The Educational Institute’s course offering, “Introduction to Smart Cards,” is staffed by a faculty of world leading industry experts. Through participation in the course, attendees will have access to an unprecedented range and depth of smart card knowledge and expertise.

The Educational Institute is unique to the industry in that it is designed to give students a hands-on learning experience with regard to smart card technology and applications, enabling participants and enterprises to develop real-world strategies for successfully deploying smart card technology. The Smart Card Forum Educational Institute is also the first and only smart card educational program of its kind that addresses technology, product, business, and legal and public policy issues associated with the application of smart cards.

The Smart Card Forum is the largest smart card industry organization. A report from the Smart Card Forum’s Mobile eCommerce Project Team will be provided at the Pre Conference Mobile eCommerce Tutorial on September 26. Key presenters and panelists are scheduled to lead discussions which include: Jeff Kutler, Senior Editor, Institutional Investor Magazine; Steven Sprague, CEO, Wave Systems; Marc Lassus, Founder and Chairman of the Board, Gemplus; and Taher Elgamal, CEO, Securify. Other speakers and panelists from the media and the technology sector will address a broad range of topics and views concerning technology, business, marketing and policy issues surrounding Mobile eCommerce.

On September 26, the PKI 101 Tutorial will be given by Charles Walton of Securify. This course is a full day session that provides a foundation as well as in-depth analysis of business case issues and the technology relevant to the use of digital signatures and certificate based e-commerce initiatives. Mr. Walton can be contacted directly at cwalton@securify.com.

The 8th Annual Meeting takes place September 25-28 at the Fairmont San Francisco Hotel in CA. The theme of this year’s conference is “Mobile eCommerce Making Waves.” The conference is open to the press and to the public. A complete program agenda, as well as registration information, is available online at http://www.smartcardforum.org.

Registration and Tuition

Preferential pricing will be offered upon attending the 8th Annual Meeting Conference, or attending the Conference and Educational Institute. For more information, please contact Donna Carlucci, Communications Director, at (212) 837-7791 or dcarlucci@smartcardforum.org.

About the Smart Card Forum

The Smart Card Forum is a non-profit, multi-industry organization of nearly 200 members working to accelerate the widespread acceptance of multi-application smart card technology by bringing together, in an open forum, leading users and technologists from both the public and private sectors. Established in 1993, the Forum includes representatives from leading companies in the banking, financial services, telecommunications, computer, technology, healthcare, retail and entertainment industries as well as government agencies and prominent universities. The Smart Card Forum also operates the Smart Card Educational Institute, the industry leading course dedicated to providing smart card education that has set the standard in the industry. The curriculum is based on leading edge education models and methodologies utilizing experienced instructors who are experts in the smart card industry. The Smart Card Forum is the leading organization for education and awareness in the development of the smart card. For more information about The Smart Card Forum, log on to the organization’s Web site at http://www.smartcardforum.org.