Gemalto Bringing Contactless EMV Cards To The US

Gemalto, the digital security company, announced Wednesday (Nov. 16) it is bringing contactless EMV cards to the U.S. market.

In a press release, the company said the new payment technology provides the same level of security as contact EMV cards but gives users more flexibility, thanks to features like tap-and-pay, which speeds up transactions. According to Gemalto, contactless cards are already being deployed in the U.S. anywhere mobile payments, like Apple Pay, are accepted. That includes retailers, supermarkets and fast-food chains around the country.

Contactless cards are also taking hold, with more than 1.2 billion delivered last year, Gemalto said. It said its contactless cards are available in 77 countries, including the U.S., Australia, China, U.K., Canada and Brazil.

“We provide a full-service portfolio of card and wearable EMV options for issuers,” said Bertrand Knopf, SVP for secure transactions at Gemalto, in the press release. “Consumers already have contactless EMV cards in their wallets from several major banks, and now, they can tap to pay at many of the places they shop most often.”

In September, Gemalto announced it was awarded a contract by BankAxept, the national payment scheme of Norway, to enable all local banks to interconnect through a single credentials management hub for streamlined and secure management of mobile payments services. Gemalto said BankAxept, which is owned by all the banks in Norway, is spearheading the efforts to federate the country’s banks and merchants in their migration towards digital payments. With more than 8 million BankAxept payment cards in circulation, the close to 1.5 billion transactions in 2015 represent nine out of 10 of the in-store payments done by Norwegian cards. The new solution will make it easier for merchants in Norway to offer customers the option of simple and secure payments via their smartphones, boosting the growth of the mobile payment ecosystem in the country, the company said.