San Francisco Event Provides Compelling Look at Electronic Commerce Challenges Ahead

New York, NY, September 12, 2000–The Smart Card Forum, a multi-industry organization working to accelerate the widespread acceptance and application of smart card technology, today announced the 8th Annual Smart Card Forum Meeting September 27–28, 2000. This two-day, annual event will focus on “Mobile eCommerce Making Waves, and will feature keynote presentations from industry leaders, educators and consumer advocates. The conference will be held in San Francisco at the Fairmont Hotel, and will be preceded by the Smart Card Forum’s Education Institute on September 25–26, 2000. The Smart Card Forum’s event will consist of attendees from a range of sectors, including financial institutions, banking, telecommunications, technology, card manufacturers, government agencies and universities.

“Mobile eCommerce Making Waves’ will feature a unique blend of individual presentations and panel discussions that address technology, business, marketing, and policy issues, as well as opportunities for participants to network with key players in the industry. Featured speakers include Mark Lassus, founder and chairman of the board of Gemplus; Bond Isaacson, president, eVisa, EVP, sales and integrated solutions of Visa USA; Steven Sprague, chief executive officer of Wave Systems; Taher Elgamal, chief executive officer of Securify and Rick Dalmazzi, president & chief executive officer of Certicom. A respected panel of educators and consumer advocates will provide additional commentary about mobile eCommerce applications and potential business models. The meeting will also highlight panels and presentations addressing the wireless application protocol (WAP), marketing, and identity, as well as a keynote panel on risk assessment.

“This year’s 8th Annual Meeting will include a number of high-level discussions of the critical 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. “We are very excited about this event, and look forward to the opportunity to explore mobile eCommerce with some of the industry’s most respected and knowledgeable professionals.”

The Smart Card Forum’s Educational Institute will begin on September 25 and will kick-off with the course, “Introduction to Smart Cards.’ Staffed by world-leading industry experts, this course will provide attendees will unprecedented access to a range and depth of smart card expertise.

On September 26, the Educational Institute will host the “PKI 101 Tutorial,’ which is being led by Charles Walton of Securify. This full-day course provides attendees with in-depth analysis of the business and technology issues relevant to digital signature and certificate-based eCommerce initiatives. For more information about this course, Mr. Walton can be contacted directly at cwalton@securify.com.

Also on September 26, the Smart Card Forum’s Mobile eCommerce Project Team will present the Project’s white papers and presentations. This group has been assembled to examine electronic commerce applications that will be delivered over a wide variety of internet appliances; specifically including those delivered over mobile appliances such as cell phones, pagers, and other devices. The project examines how smart cards and related technologies can facilitate and enhance such applications within a business framework. An analysis of the business case for each application will be presented with emphasis placed on key capabilities, such as identification/authentication, that are the pivot points for the business case.

Registration

For information, contact Donna Carlucci, the Smart Card Forum’s communications director, at (212) 837-7791 or dcarlucci@smartcardforum.org. A complete program agenda, as well as registration information, is available at http://www.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.

About The Smart Card Forum Educational Institute

The Educational Institute is non-profit organization that is designed to provide students with a hands-on learning experience for smart card technology and applications. As a result, participants and their respective enterprises can 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, legal, and public policy issues associated with the application of smart cards.