People's Bank of China (PBOC) have announced all banking cards in China would migrate to smart cards (Chip and PIN) by 2015. PBOC has already published the specification for these cards, called PBOC 2.0, which includes the certification scheme. SPS has developed a dedicated smart card platform, including dual technology, complete with chips supporting the JavaCard-based PBOC 2.0 operating system, and inlays benefitting from the EBooster technology that guarantees ease of integration and reliability. SPS has already verified the consistence of its products with PBOC / China UnionPay specifications.
SPS is ready to deliver its EBooster platforms for certification by China UnionPay, and to engage in mass production from the second half of 2012.
"With the integration of PBOC 2.0 Operating System on SPS eBooster technology, the Chinese market will benefit from the reliability of smart banking cards that has already been demonstrated by SPS in large quantities on other markets", said Stéphane Semori, Sales Director for Asia Africa and Middle East area.
SPS EBooster technology allows smart card manufacturers of all sizes to deliver high-performance dual technology cards to financial institutions issuing banking cards. SPS platform consists in a micro-module with contacts for EMV contact transactions integrating a small antenna, and an inlay with a full card size antenna, coupled with the small antenna, allowing an efficient communication in contactless mode between the card and the reader. This way, and because there is no physical connection between both antennas, cards are highly reliable, and even allow five lines of embossing in the ISO-defined area. Thanks to the EBooster technology, smart card vendors are able to deliver dual technology contact & contactless cards without costly investments in their production line. They can easily integrate a stable process that guarantees high yield rates for their dual interface card embedding process.
