Date: 04/05/2009

NXP smartcard ICs inside contactless payment cards of Giesecke & Devrient (G&D

The smart (silicon) part of Giesecke & Devrient's North-America market-specific cashless smart cards, which are designed to reduce payment time is NXP's new Fast Pay contactless security chip.

The number of this type of smart card issued in USA are expected to rise from 70 million in 2008 to 100 million in next 3 years. Contact-less payment applications such as G&D's Visa payWave and MasterCard PayPass cards are supported by the NXP's Fast Pay contact-less security chip.

"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."

Three European semiconductor leaders Infineon, ST Microelectronics and NXP Semiconductors top the list of security and identification semiconductor market vendor ranking.