First Major Credit Card Company Aims to Capture Market Share with Java Credit Cards
TOKYO - SchlumbergerSema, a business segment of Schlumberger Limited, today announced that it has been awarded a contract to develop and supply Java open platform credit cards to Sumitomo Mitsui Card Company of Japan (Sumitomo Mitsui). This is the first time Java-based credit cards with multi-application programs will be used in Japan.
Designed for the finance market, the SchlumbergerSema Palmera Swift* 16K smart card has been selected by Sumitomo Mitsui for their first trial of Java-based, multi-application credit cards. Ease of implementation and design, combined with the ability to add new applications three times faster than native OS development, are some of the unique features offered in the smart cards. These advantages help Sumitomo Mitsui accelerate the implementation of new card services and products to their customers.
Sumitomo Mitsui, a major player in the Japanese credit card industry, expects to deploy new value-added services such as payment, loyalty programs, PC log-on and network identification to their corporate customers this year by leveraging the vast experience of SchlumbergerSema and its extensive portfolio in developing solutions for the financial sector. Sumitomo Mitsui has already deployed SchlumbergerSema cards internally and is among the first in Japan to have a fully secure, logical and physical access system.
"SchlumbergerSema is a partner that truly listens to its customers to clearly identify their intricate needs and more importantly, ensure that their products meet Sumitomo Mitsui's objectives," stated Toru Matsutani, general manager, Smart Card Planning and Promotion Department of Sumitomo Mitsui. "With their vast expertise and prominent leadership in the smart cards industry, we are confident that the Java open platform credit cards will help us expand our value-added services to customers. We see an enormous potential for its use."
"Releasing Java open platform credit cards in Japan paves the way for SchlumbergerSema to demonstrate its expertise in Java for smart cards, especially in the financial arena," said Philippe Cambriel, vice president, e-Transaction Cards, SchlumbergerSema. "At the same time, SchlumbergerSema can provide additional capabilities for customers like Sumitomo Mitsui to expand the corporate, co-branded and consumer credit card markets."
One of the most significant advantages of using Java-based, multi-application credit cards is the flexibility and short lead times associated with program deployment. With Java OP technology, diverse applications such as debit/credit payment, e-purse and loyalty programs can be easily programmed into a smart card chip. A card issuer becomes able to respond creatively to the demands of its customers, exploit the potential of new partnership opportunities, and improve profitability, despite competing in a mature market.
With more than 20 years experience in the financial sector, SchlumbergerSema offers one of the strongest and most extensive portfolios of smart card solutions. The company has sold more than 2.6 billion smart cards to date. It enables global personalization with geographically located manufacturing facilities, and currently offers the widest portfolio of payment cards in the market, including EMV, UKIS, VIS, M/CHIP, VCEPS, VisaCash, Mondex and Proton, as well as Qianflex*, which is specifically tailored for People's Bank of China.
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About Sumitomo Mitsui Card
Sumitomo Mitsui Card is the leading credit card operator in Japan with Visa and MasterCard, having 11.8 million cardholders and 2.5 million merchants, and also is most aggressive and the fastest mover with chip card in the industry. Since the start of the migration in April 2001, it has issued over a million Visa chip cards with loyalty service called 'V-Point' and plans to provide other value-added service with Java technology.
About SchlumbergerSema
SchlumbergerSema is one of two business segments of Schlumberger Limited, a global technology services company. With more than 30,000 employees serving customers in 65 countries, SchlumbergerSema aggregates IT consulting, systems integration, managed services and related products to the oil and gas, telecommunications, energy and utilities, finance, transport and public sector markets. Leveraging the Schlumberger DeXa* Suite of Services, it also provides IP network connectivity, information security solutions, distributed computing support services and data center hosting services. In 2001, Schlumberger revenues were $14.3 billion. For more information, visit www.slb.com.
For further information, contact:
Vivien Goh
Director, Marketing Communications - Asia
SchlumbergerSema
Tel: 65-6831-5461
vivieng@singapore.sema.slb.com
© Press Release 2006
