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May 04, 2009

NXP and Giesecke & Devrient Launch Contactless Fast Pay Solution


New Fast Pay chip optimized for contactless payment applications in North America


Eindhoven, The Netherlands/Dulles, Virginia, May 4th, 2009 – NXP, the independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, and Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), a leading supplier of payment cards, services, and smart card solutions, today announced the introduction of NXP’s new Fast Pay contactless security chip and a new line of G&D contactless payment devices based on this IC. Fast Pay-based devices have been specifically designed to provide consumers in the USA and Canada with a convenient and swift contactless payment solution – replacing the need for cash and reducing transaction times.

 

In 2008 alone, over 70 million contactless smart cards were issued in the USA and this annual number is expected to rise to 100 million over the next 3 years. Combining G&D’s strong position within the North American smart card market and NXP’s leadership in security and contactless semiconductor technology, the new chip will be widely used for contactless payment applications, such as in G&D’s Visa® payWave and MasterCard® PayPass™ cards. The EMVCo approved chip offers best in class contactless performance and its Data Encryption Standard (DES) hardware co-processor provides strong security and fast transaction times, all packaged within a small footprint.

 

“NXP’s Fast Pay chip delivers a new industry benchmark in security, performance and flexibility for contactless payment devices,” said Brian Russell, G&D’s new Vice President of Payment Card Solutions in the U.S. “G&D is pleased to offer Fast Pay-based devices as an integral part of its product portfolio, ranging from cards to mobile payment stickers. As the leading provider of contactless payment cards in the U.S., ensuring full supply chain availability of contactless payment solutions is critical to meet the growing demands of our customers and Fast Pay allows us this flexibility.”

 

“With over 250 million secure smart card chips shipped to date for eGovernment and banking applications, NXP has extensive expertise in contactless technology and security and a thorough understanding of the requirements in security-sensitive payment markets,” said Steve Owen, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Identification, NXP Semiconductors. “The new Fast Pay IC has been designed in close alignment with our customers and is specifically tailored to provide consumers in the USA and Canada with a secure, fast and comfortable payment experience.”

 

Fast Pay is ISO 14443 Type A certified and supports the latest MasterCard® and Visa® contactless payment specifications. Its DES hardware co-processor offers substantially higher security than pure software implementations. Fast Pay is supporting multiple form factors, including full CR80/ID-1 cards, fobs and stickers. The chips can be delivered in up to 250µm thick chip-packages, allowing extremely thin designs.

 

About Giesecke & Devrient

Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) is a technology leader in the field of smart cards, providing smart card-based solutions for telecommunications, electronic payment, healthcare, ID, transportation, and IT security (PKI). G&D is also a leading producer of banknotes and security documents and is dominant in the field of currency automation. Based in Munich, Germany, the G&D Group maintains subsidiaries and joint ventures around the world. The Group employs over 9,000 people and generates revenue over €1.5 billion. For more information, visit our website at www.gdai.com.

 

About NXP Semiconductors

NXP is a leading semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe, the company has about 30,000 employees working in more than 30 countries and posted sales of USD 5.4 billion (including the Mobile & Personal business) in 2008. NXP creates semiconductors, system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, mobile phones, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP is located at www.nxp.com.