STRATEGIC PARTNERS
March 4, 2002
LOS ANGELES -- ARCO will launch a smart card payment trial later this year at a select number of ARCO service stations in southern California and Arizona.
Smart Card Integrators, Inc. (SCI), the CPI Card Group, Infineon Technologies (formerly Siemens Microelectronics) and Microsoft Corp. will supply technology for the test.
"Smart cards have been a big success in Europe, but have been slow to gain a foothold in the American market, said Francois Allal, president of SCI, "The trial represents a significant step for smart card technology in the USA. Our objectives for the ARCO trial will be to show that smart cards are reliable and convenient in an everyday retail application. After all, what could be more American than the
neighborhood gas station?"
SCI, a smart card applications system integrator headquartered in Los Angeles, will take the lead role in orchestrating the hardware, software and services necessary to conduct the test. Infineon will supply the chips going into the ARCO payment smart cards, which will run on Microsoft's new Smart Card for Windows operating system. CPI will print and manufacture the finished smart cards.
"We see smart cards as the next major technological advance in personal finances and want to be a leader in that future," said Joe Bookout, ARCO's marketing technology manager.
"This trial is an important step in discovering how the benefits of smart cards can be integrated into our daily lives," said Mike Dusche, Microsoft's director of smart card marketing.
