Company registers a 10-fold increase in the number of issuances of contactless cards and documents in Brazil

The increase is motivated by the standardization of technology in the country and the higher use of contactless cards during the social isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic. The numbers are from the French company SPS, in partnership with Bsmart Consulting.

SPS, specialist in design, manufacturing, and sale of solutions for the production of credit cards, identification, electronic passports and dual-interface bank cards, recorded an increase of 10 times in the activities related to the production of payment cards by approximation in 2020 and first half of 2021, driven by the standardization of the technology in Brazil and the increase in use of contactless cards during the social isolation of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The French company had already registered an annual growth above 100% in the last five years in the Brazilian market, in supplying its technology for manufacturing contactless and Dual cards Interface (DIF), following the standardization adopted by the large MASTERCARD, VISA and ELO payment brands. The expectation was to keep those metrics, but with the pandemic, contactless transactions had a strong boost, a ten times increase, helping people to make their payments avoiding touching equipment with their hands in establishments considered essential, such as food retail, pharmacies, food delivery and others.

SPS business’ growth in Brazil was supported by a commercial and technical support from Bsmart Consulting & Outsourcing Services, the consulting unit of Bsmart Group, dedicated to business development for global companies looking for opportunities in Brazil, Latin America, and the United States, through the offer of new technologies.

"COVID-19 had a strong impact on the business and SPS customers were able to organize themselves and control the production flow, with the production of financial cards being considered a business essential and, therefore, the industry has never stopped moving and innovating. The results reflect this movement,” says Benoît Guez, VP Americas, SPS.

SPS has been operating in Brazil for over 10 years, well before the migration to Dual Interface (DIF) technology, developing relationships with all card manufacturers, in partnership with Bsmart. The expressive result of 2020 follows the pace of growth of the contactless card market in the banking and credit card system, in addition to other segments such as transportation and retail, a movement that registers around the world. Indeed, Cristiano Paulino, based out of Sao Paulo, is the LatAm Sales Director covering all markets in addition to Brazil from Mexico to Argentina, enhancing the physical presence of SPS. Together with Karina Prado, head of Bsmart Consulting Business Unit and Commercial Director of the group, they support the local market and the contactless payment industry.

Alexander Dannias, managing director of Bsmart Group, also points out the maturity of the Brazilian market in contactless transactions and the user's trust, gained over the years due to the improved security standards for online transactions. "The investment made by S-P-S, and the structure of Bsmart, allowed card manufacturers and banks to have the opportunity to know the most advanced technology for contactless payment methods, learn a lot about the portfolio of solutions and evaluate the benefits for their business”, says the executive.

Talking about the result of this partnership with Bsmart, adds the VP Americas of SPS, “we are leaders in Dual Interface technology used in Brazil and Latin America, we managed to present our technology soon enough, to virtually all Latin American card manufacturers, offering quality and robustness to cardholders and issuers. This is our achievement”.

By Willians Geminiano – Journalist

Version in English by Outfox Marketing

http://outfox.com.br/enabling-local-communication/

http://bsmartgroup.com/bcos/

http://bsmartgroup.com/s-p-s/

https://www.s-p-s.com/

SPS partners with Ellipse to integrate SPS eBoost inductive coupling technology in their EVC® All-In-One module

SPS, a world leader in contactless and Dual Interface card manufacturing technologies, is pleased to announce its partnership with Ellipse, a Los Angeles based FinTech company specialized in payment security, to include Ellipse EVC All-In-One module in its product portfolio, making it easy for card vendors to propose better eCommerce security to their bank customers while keeping their existing manufacturing process of dual-interface cards.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, November 29th, 2021 – Card-Not-Present payments, used in eCommerce, are plagued with fraud caused by the low level of security provided by the fixed Card Security Code (CSC, also known as CVV or CVC) printed on the signature panel of most payment cards. Ellipse has developed the Ellipse Verification Code (EVC), displayed on the back of the card, that refreshes automatically during every contact or contactless EMV transaction, rendering pointless any fraudster attempt to copy and reuse it.

Thanks to the integration of SPS’s eBoost® inductive coupling technology with the EVC® All-In-One module, card manufacturers can easily mass produce eCommerce-ready payment cards. Dual-interface cards based on this technology do not require any physical connection between the micromodule and the antenna, thus benefitting from the advantages of this simple embedding process in terms of cost efficiency, reliability and card life expectancy.

SPS’ EVC® All-In-One module easily integrates into the traditional manufacturing process of dual-interface cards where the EVC® All-In-One module is embedded in place of the traditional EMV module, avoiding any disruption to both the supply chain and the manufacturing process. Embedding the micromodule at the very end of the manufacturing operations guarantees that no micromodule will be wasted because of card body manufacturing issues.

Thanks to its exclusive All-in-One design, Ellipse’s battery-free EVC technology ensures an easy and cost-effective manufacturing of dual-interface eCommerce-ready payment cards. The solution maximizes payment card life, therefore reducing premature card reissuance, and supports eco-friendly initiatives. The solution developed by Ellipse is compatible with all EMV chips and the EVC code verification is easy to deploy as it fully leverages existing EMV rails and does not require an additional server on the issuer side.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, marketing director for banking products at SPS declares: “This partnership with Ellipse allows us to achieve a new step in our product offer. With the EVC® All-In-One module, card manufacturers are now able to satisfy even better the requirements of financial institutions by bringing them an innovative, high margin and easy-to-integrate solution to significantly improve eCommerce security.”

Cyril Lalo, Ellipse CEO, adds: “Our technology has never been so easy to integrate for card vendors. Thanks to SPS Inductive Coupling technology, integrated in our EVC® All-In-One module, all card manufacturers can use their traditional EMV module milling and embedding process to deliver a new product that brings a highly demanded differentiation to banks concerned with transaction security and bring peace of mind to all stakeholders: cardholders as well as merchants.”

The SPS EVC® All-In-One module will be demonstrated on SPS booth 5.2 D035 during Trustech, the Global Event dedicated to Payments, Identification and Security, that will take place in Porte de Versailles, Paris Expo from November 30 to December 2nd 2021. Come and visit us for a demonstration!

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual-interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 250 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

 Contact

Jean Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com
Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

 SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 

Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

About Ellipse

Ellipse is a Los Angeles based FinTech company shaping the future of payment security. Ellipse has invented EVC® All-In-One, the first EMV micromodule with an integrated screen to display a Dynamic Security Code for eCommerce protection by using the existing EMV rails. EVC is a breakthrough solution to combat Card-Not-Present fraud and to reduce False Declines. EVC is easy to deploy for Issuers, provides a frictionless experience for cardholders, and is transparent to merchants. EVC All-In-One patented battery-free display technology enables all card manufacturers to produce EVC products with their existing process and equipment. Ellipse is comprised of leading payment technology experts dedicated to help stakeholders generate new value from technologies that address today's and tomorrow's challenges of the digital payment ecosystem. More information at www.ellipse.la  

Contact

Laval Law, Marketing Manager, llaw@ellipse.la

EVC® is a registered trademark of Ellipse World, Inc. in the US and/or elsewhere. EVC® Dynamic Card Security Code battery-free solution is registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office and internationally

SPS GoGreen S-Lam™ technology answers customer demand for eco-friendly cards while ensuring the sustainability of manufacturing process investments

SPS, as a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, is constantly adapting to the evolution of cardholders’ demand by introducing GoGreen S-Lam™, its new easy-to-integrate eco-friendly PETG, rPETG and rPVC card material range for banking card manufacturers.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, November 26, 2021 – Citizens worldwide are becoming more eco-conscious and are willing to align their purchase decisions with their values. This goes through a change of habits on many levels, including having a fresh look at the cards they want to see in their wallet. Everyone is getting increasingly concerned with one’s ecological footprint, the pollution triggered by plastic waste and, more globally, by environmental issues. It is anticipated that by 2025, around 25% of dual interface card bodies will be manufactured with eco-friendly materials.

Supporting citizens in matching their behavior with their values, SPS is introducing GoGreen S-Lam™, its series of new card materials, which reduce the dissemination of toxic components into the environment. Included into its global portfolio, SPS proposes a full set of components and options to support its customers in manufacturing the most suitable, qualified and certified, sustainable solutions. Made from recycled sources, these materials will be able to degrade without dispersing chlore-based harmful chemicals while, at the same time, allowing an easy integration with existing manufacturing tools and methods already in use by card vendors.

Thanks to these new recycled and chloride-free plastic materials proposed by SPS, card manufacturers will be able to expand their offer and adapt to the demand of issuers willing to propose multiple options to their cardholders. This way, card issuers can propose eco-friendly cards in addition to their existing offer that already includes standard cards and high-end cards such as metal cards and customized modules and S-Lam™. This extensive offer opens options for the marketing teams of financial institutions as it is now evident that consumers are not only demanding ecological efforts from corporations but are also ready to accept higher prices for environmentally-friendly products and services.

SPS new GoGreen S-Lam™ portfolio of eco-friendly materials includes the following from strategic suppliers:

·       Recycled PVC GoGreen rPVC (Recycled PVC), which contains a minimum of 99% of recycled industrial plastic, leading to a carbon footprint reduction of about 48%. With GoGreen rPVC, the card manufacturing process remains similar to classical PVC

·       Chloride free PETG (Glycol Polyethylene Terephthalate) and rPETG (Recycled PETG), which contain no chlore-based harmful chemicals, leading to a faster degradability and almost infinite recyclability. These materials bring a carbon footprint reduction of 10% for PETG and of 67% for rPETG. With GoGreen PETG and rPETG, the card manufacturing process remains unchanged compared to traditional cards.

Thanks to these new materials, card manufacturers that use the SPS inductive coupling manufacturing process are in the best position to answer to their customer requirements and propose them cards that will keep the same qualities of reliability, durability and cost-effectiveness as the ones made in legacy materials while being a lot more eco-friendly.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, marketing director for banking products at SPS declares: “We are happy to be always more in line with society concerns and demands and, at the same time, to keep on delivering the best-in-class products to card manufacturers. With our new GoGreen S-Lam™ range, we make sure card vendors can answer all market requirements while keeping the industrial advantages of SPS inductive coupling process.”

SPS new recycled and chloride-free materials allow the same series of SPS specific security features as other card materials. With these new materials, it is easy to manufacture metallic or non-metallic foil artworks, non-standard card formats, M2D™ (Mark on Module Design) and CAI™ (Customized Antenna Image) cards.

SPS new rPVC, PETG and rPETG products, part of the GoGreen S-Lam™ range, are already available for volume orders from SPS.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 250 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Jean Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com
Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

 SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 

Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

Smart Packaging Solutions SA (“SPS”) provides an update on the patent infringement lawsuit filed against CPI Card Group Inc. (“CPI”)

Smart Packaging Solutions SA (“SPS”) has provided an update on the patent infringement lawsuit filed against CPI Card Group Inc. (“CPI”) in Wilmington, Delaware USA on April 20, 2021. The Complaint charges that CPI is infringing U.S. patent rights controlled by SPS and covering dual interface smart cards. The parties considered various approaches for resolving the dispute but were ultimately unable to reach a mutually agreeable resolution of the dispute.  As a result, SPS made formal service of process on September 17, 2021, and the lawsuit is proceeding accordingly. The case is known as Smart Packaging Solutions SA v. CPI Card Group Inc., Civil Action No. 21-CV-00556. (D. Del. 2021).

SPS is a French company with offices and principal place of business at 85 Avenue de la Plaine, ZI De Rousset-Peynier, 13790 Rousset, France. With over 250 employees and representatives in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, SPS is a world leader in the development, manufacture, and sale of smart cards and smart card technology. As explained again by SPS’s President, Frederic TROJANI, “Our technology forms the heart of our company, and we are strongly committed to protecting it. We try hard to respect the technology rights of other companies, just as we expect other companies to respect our technology rights.”

SPS is represented in the litigation by the Chicago law firm McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff. Any inquiries about the matter should be directed to Philippe LAURI, SPS - philippe.lauri@s-p-s.com, Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 40.

SPS and SURYS, brands of IN Groupe, join their efforts to propose a top of the range PC datapage offer for passport manufacturers

SPS and SURYS, the secure components brands of IN Groupe, are proud to introduce their new polycarbonate (PC) datapage for passports that combines a full set of exclusive security features from a hinge solution to DOVID elements, providing passport issuers with the latest state of the art technologies.

ROUSSET and BUSSY SAINT-GEORGES, FRANCE, July 6, 2021 – SPS and SURYS have always provided passport manufacturers with state of the art security features. Today, they are joining forces to offer a unique PC datapage solution. The new PC datapage obviously provides the intrinsic security of a polycarbonate datapage, which has proved to be significantly harder to attack or counterfeit than traditional paper datapages. Additionally, the new PC datapage offer is not only fully compliant with ICAO 9303 recommendations, but also includes the best patented technologies from both entities, such as DID™ Shape, CHI™ and CAI™ that help reinforce the security of the final document, making controls easier while providing evidence of any attack attempts.

This new PC datapage includes the latest SURYS DOVID solution (Diffractive Optically Variable Image Device) the DID™ Shape, which offers unlimited design possibilities, enhances security and unlocks full data protection. The renowned DID™ Shape technology, is easy to control and impossible to counterfeit, and is built on several DOVID elements dispersed on all or part of the PC datapage surface. As elements can be implemented in a specific pattern on different locations of the datapage, they constitute a memorable and easily recognizable security feature.

This new PC datapage includes another exclusive feature based on the hinge technology. A thin layer with customizable aluminum areas is laminated within the datapage. These features are located on the hinge itself, the CHI™ (Customized Hinge Image) a security feature level 1 and/or inside the datapage, the CAI™ (Customized Antenna Image) a security level 2 that works like a watermark. These features can include a specific design or your country coat of arms to reinforce the security against datapage replacement (with the CHI™) or to protect the data from a rear end attack (with the CAI™).

SPS/SURYS follow the recent PC datapage trend to include a custom clear window. The shapes of the windows we can propose are flexible, reinforcing the security of the PC datapage.

The new PC datapage includes all traditional security features: Optically Variable Ink (OVI), Multiple Laser Image (MLI), as well as surface embossing, specific Pantone or UV inks and UV fluorescent and visible rainbow printing.

Remy Mendil, product manager ID passport at SPS/SURYS states: “We are happy to provide our customers with a complete and flexible offer for PC datapage that constitute the best value proposition for highly secure documents combining state of the art security features while applying a design to cost approach.”

The SPS/SURYS comprehensive PC datapage offer can be adapted to the passport manufacturer, and customers can obtain the datapage ready to be integrated into a booklet or just as semi-finished products including the customer’s choice of SPS/SURYS technologies. This offer can also be associated with eCovers, passport inlays and other elements of Passports.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 250 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

About SURYS

SURYS,  a brand of IN Groupe, formerly known as Hologram Industries, is a French technology company providing anti-counterfeiting solutions essentially based on optical and digital sciences. SURYS offers solutions to ensure that identity documents, banknotes and fiduciary documents are easy to authenticate and hard to counterfeit, and provides a wide range of authentication and traceability solutions for brands and products. SURYS, from its headquarters based in Marne-la-Vallée, France, manages two production facilities in France and in the US, several R&D facilities in France and Germany and a specialized branch in automated verification of identity documents in the Netherlands. SURYS solutions have been adopted by over 130 countries (incl. Philippines banknotes, passports for France, Brazil and China), and by renowned major brands. More information at www.surys.com

Contact

Remy Mendil, Product Manager Passport, ID BL, SPS/SURYS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

SPS and SURYS are part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The company plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity.

Whatever the challenge, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

IN Groupe runs three affiliated brands, SPS for electronic components, Surys for optical and holographic security and Nexus for workforce identity and object identity solutions, technological leaders in their markets.

Key figures: 407M€ turnover (proforma 2019), 1,500 employees - 7 sites in Europe - +100 countries using IN Groupe solutions - 28 partner governments.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS new transparent cards offer empowers financial institutions and card vendors innovative marketing strategies

In a context of always fiercer marketing battles to win and retain new customers, financial institutions are in need of differentiation: SPS new transparent cards offer brings them the technology improvement they need to stand out and have their cards become top of wallet.

SPS, a brand of the IN Groupe, is proud to announce its new offer for transparent cards that brings a fully qualified and industrialized answer to the need of custom designs for contactless and dual interface payment cards. Banks, traditional ones and neobanks alike, are in need of differentiation to gain new customers. They keep on designing new cards allowing them to micro-segment their clientele and show each of their cardholders the uniqueness of their status.

SPS has developed new antennas that benefit from the latest technology developments and allow a thinner design than before. Unlike wired coils, SPS antennas are printed with aluminum, allowing for an extremely stable and repeatable design, that makes it easy for designers to integrate the antenna through the card with their specific artwork and guarantee a perfect alignment of graphical items. SPS transparent card offer is compatible with many other card body options such as metal cards or cut or rounded corners.

SPS standard new antenna for transparent cards covers only two thirds of the card surface leaving a lot of space for the visuals and allowing graphical combinations between the artwork and the antenna. Certified by Visa and Mastercard, this new antenna design allows four lines of embossing on the card.

To bring even more flexibility and an always better answer to artwork designers’ demands, SPS proposes its CAI® - Custom Antenna Image – technology that allows to specify the most suitable antenna design that will combine graphical elements on the card with specific antenna features. For instance, the bank name or its logo or any other representation of card status level, can appear as a part of the antenna design, visible through the transparent plastic surfaces.

With SPS new transparent card offer, financial institutions are able to enrich their portfolio of credit and debit cards without limits: they can propose regular cards, colored edge cards, transparent cards, metal cards, or heavy cards, with an almost infinite variety of design features to micro-segment their clientele and satisfy the need for status of all market niches.

By integrating this new comprehensive offer, smart card manufacturers are able to adapt to always-evolving market demands, as they expand their product offer for their customers while improving their margin levels.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Product Marketing Director Payment at SPS declares: “Transparent cards with either SPS standard design or specific antenna design is a strong, efficient and original differentiation means for banks for a fraction of the cost of their usual marketing campaigns.”

SPS new antenna for transparent cards are fully qualified and readily available from SPS. They are already certified by Visa and Mastercard, thus facilitating their integration in a smart card vendor manufacturing process to obtain the full satisfaction of issuing financial institutions. SPS cards build upon SPS longstanding eBooster® inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna) for contactless or dual interface cards. High yields and insignificant return rates ensure that the whole process is extremely cost-effective and brings a high level of satisfaction for the issuers as well as the cardholders.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 250 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

SPS Contact

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Product Marketing Director Payment, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 44

SPS and Surys are part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The company plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity.

Whatever the challenge, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

IN Groupe runs three affiliated brands, SPS for electronic components, Surys for optical and holographic security and Nexus for workforce identity and object identity solutions, technological leaders in their markets.

Key figures: 407M€ turnover (proforma 2019), 1,500 employees - 7 sites in Europe - +100 countries using IN Groupe solutions - 28 partner governments.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

Transparent Card

Smart Packaging Solutions SA (“SPS”) filed suit against two companies in United States on April 20, 2021

Smart Packaging Solutions SA (“SPS”) filed lawsuits against two companies in United States federal court for the District of Delaware on April 20, 2021 - case number 21-cv-00556 and case number 21-cv-00557.  The Complaints alleged that the companies have infringed certain U.S. patent rights controlled by SPS, covering dual interface inductive coupling technology in smart cards.

SPS is a French company with offices and principal place of business at 85 Avenue de la Plaine, ZI De Rousset-Peynier, 13790 Rousset, France. With over 250 employees and representatives in the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, SPS is a world leader in the development, manufacture, and sale of smart card technology. As explained by SPS’s President, Frédéric TROJANI, “Our technology forms the heart of our company, and we are strongly committed to protecting it. We try hard to respect the technology rights of other companies, and so we expect that other companies will respect our technology rights.” 

SPS is represented in the litigation by the Chicago law firm McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff. 

Any inquiries about the matter should be directed to Philippe LAURI, SPS - philippe.lauri@s-p-s.com, Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 40

SPS expands its ePassport component offer to bring flexible and cost-effective solutions to ID document manufacturers and governments

SPS is proud to introduce its new component offer for ePassport vendors: inlays and eCovers that include copper wire antennas allowing manufacturers to benefit from the advantages of SPS eBooster® technology while significantly improving their flexibility, reactiveness and cost-efficiency along with the reliability of the finished product.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, March 24, 2021 – SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) new ePassport inlays include the passport chip, a small antenna and a large copper wire antenna that resonate together, all set on a Teslin® synthetic paper.

With these new ePassport inlays and eCovers, passport manufacturers not only benefit from the latest technology but also enjoy more cost-efficient subsets that will allow them to become even more competitive on their markets. SPS ePassport inlays are based on a Teslin® high performance synthetic paper thus guaranteeing the durability and security of the support. They use copper wire antennas based on SPS eBooster® inductive coupling technology to optimize reliability.

This new technology reinforces flexibility in the value chain: SPS is ready to deliver fully functional samples and small production batches within a very small time frame. We can also bring our support to passport manufacturers to setup their production, to manage their production ramp up according to their needs, and to remain a backup industrial source as a contingency plan. This way, passport manufacturers benefit from a total flexibility in setting up the best response to government demands for small and large volumes and fast delivery schedules, while securing their passport flow.

SPS new ePassport offer can be delivered in two forms: the inlay, which includes a Teslin® high performance synthetic paper, with the chip and a large copper wire antenna, or the eCover, which combines the inlay with a passport cover. The cover, printed with the issuing country specific coat of arms, is ready for integration by ePassport manufacturers. SPS eCovers can also include additional security features, such as invisible UV inks, even expanding the document physical security level.

Thanks to SPS eBooster® technology and the use of copper wire for the antenna, SPS new inlays and eCovers are able to include any type of passport chip, with any operating system, allowing ePassport manufacturers to satisfy all government demands in terms of ICAO-compliant ePassports.

SPS, part of the IN Groupe, builds upon its longstanding experience in producing inlays as part of ePassports delivered to governments as diverse as France, Peru or many other countries.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, head of products for SPS declares: “With our new inlay and eCover offer, we make ePassport manufacturers benefit from the latest innovations while keeping on building on the established advantages of SPS eBooster® technology in terms of reliability and durability, making them always more flexible and competitive on ePassport markets.”

SPS ePassport inlays and eCover are based on the company’s eBooster® inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), making the inlay easier to integrate for all ID document manufacturers. As there is no physical connection between the small antenna embedded in the micromodule and the large antenna coil on the inlay, they are more durable and easily stand the life expectancy requirements of identity applications. In addition, this technology allows to protect even better the chip in the inlay by using a module and resin.

SPS new ePassport inlays and eCover are readily available.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 200 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

SPS Contact

Remy Mendil, Product Manager Passport Solutions, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

SPS  is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The company plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity.

Whatever the challenge, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

IN Groupe runs three affiliated brands, SPS for electronic components, Surys for optical and holographic security and Nexus for workforce identity and object identity solutions, technological leaders in their markets.

Key figures: 407M€ turnover (proforma 2019), 1,500 employees - 7 sites in Europe - +100 countries using IN Groupe solutions - 28 partner governments.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

More than one billion SPS inductive coupling platforms in the hands of cardholders demonstrate recognition of technology by issuers and card vendors

SPS is proud to announce that one billion of its eBooster® inductive coupling platforms, consisting in an inlay and a micromodule, have reached end users in the form of payment cards, or ID documents such as ePassports, national ID cards or others thus demonstrating an outstanding recognition of the reliability, ease of integration and cost-effective advantages of the technology.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, September 17, 2020 – After fifteen years of existence and evolutions, SPS eBooster® inductive coupling technology is now used by more than 150 card manufacturers worldwide making it a standard in the smart card and documents industry. While one billion eBooster® inductive coupling platforms have already been shipped by SPS, the company is now on a trend to deliver 320 million eBooster® platforms in 2020, that is almost one million per day!

Card manufacturers that integrate SPS eBooster® inductive coupling technology acknowledge its advantages in terms of reliability and ease of integration in their manufacturing process. Working in a permanent connection with card manufacturers, SPS actively supports them in making the best of the technology.

As of now, the payment card market segment has understood the numerous advantages of SPS technology for dual interface cards, capable of communicating in contact or contactless mode. More than 870 million payment cards on the field worldwide are based on SPS eBooster® technology. Card manufacturers have already obtained over 1,500 certifications (Letter of Approval) from card schemes for payment cards using SPS platforms. More than 500 financial institutions worldwide are using SPS platforms for their banking cards.

SPS eBooster® inductive coupling technology has also gained a high recognition in the ID document market: at present, more than 170 million ID documents in more than 53 projects worldwide include SPS technology. Already 13 governments have decided to adopt SPS technology for their ePassports and 13 nations issue their national ID cards with SPS eBooster® technology. Other projects include residence permits, eDriving licenses, healthcare cards, and corporate or government ID. In the eID segment, SPS inductive coupling platforms are embedded in dual interface (single-chip contact and contactless communication), contactless or hybrid (contact and contactless communication with two chips) ID documents.

The first mass-deployed SPS eBooster® inductive coupling platforms were delivered in 2006 for the Morocco national ID card for the ID segment, and in 2007 for the deployment of contactless payment cards in Australia for the payment segment. Since these times, SPS has been working in a permanent connection with card manufacturers on evolutions and improvements of the technology. Over the years, micromodules and inlays are smaller, significantly increasing card vendors competitiveness. The latest generation of eBooster® technology now covers all card vendor needs. For instance multiple materials, PVC, PET and polycarbonate are now compatible with SPS eBooster® technology, and the company is on an evolution path to proposing ecofriendly materials both for the payment and ID segments. In addition, for ID, SPS recently introduced its polycarbonate ePassport data page.  In order to effectively serve all customer factories, SPS has also doubled its production capacity every two years.

Olivier Brunet, SPS Marketing Director, declares: “We are proud not only to have achieved more than one billion eBooster® inductive coupling platforms but also, and even more importantly, we reached this milestone thanks to a permanent and successful collaboration with card manufacturers.”

Inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), is easy to integrate for all smart card manufacturers. They can keep on using the same equipment for contactless or dual interface cards as the one they have been using for contact cards, thus reducing their capital expenditures. With SPS eBooster® inductive coupling technology, card manufacturers are able to produce all types of cards: contactless cards, dual interface cards, hybrid cards and contact cards, using the same equipment and the same process. This fact brings them not only huge savings in terms of production costs, but also a simplification of their logistics, while allowing them to provide their customers with an extensively diverse offer. High yields and insignificant return rates ensure that the whole process is extremely cost-effective and brings a high level of satisfaction for the issuers.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 200 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

SPS Contact

Olivier Brunet, Marketing director, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 44

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The company plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity.

Whatever the challenge, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

IN Groupe runs three affiliated brands, SPS for electronic components, Surys for optical and holographic security and Nexus for workforce identity and object identity solutions, technological leaders in their markets.

Key figures: 407M€ turnover (proforma 2019), 1,500 employees - 7 sites in Europe - +100 countries using IN Groupe solutions - 28 partner governments.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS improve ID card security thanks to CMI+, increasing the support for additional government emblems on the micro module

Delivering  state of the art security to governments worldwide, SPS, a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, introduces CMI+, Customized Module Image Plus, an additive technology making ID card counterfeiting increasingly more difficult to potential fraudsters, thanks to government emblems situated on multiple locations of the micro module.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, June 6th 2020 – SPS is proud to introduce CMI+, Customized Module Image Plus, a new security feature dedicated to ID documents that consists in including the coat of arms or other government emblems or symbols on the card’s micro module. This is done by removing material in  the micro module’s center and also by adding symbols in previously unattainable locations. For instance, with CMI+, a micromodule can be designed with a combination of a large representation of the coat of arms in the center with smaller national symbols on peripheral locations of the module.

This new CMI+ security feature makes it increasingly more difficult for potential counterfeiters to modify an existing micro module: not only would they need to remove material from the module surface but they would also have to add some material with a very thin and specific design while conserving the surface aspect of the micromodule, something practically unsurmountable with the limited non-industrial means of potential fraudsters.

CMI+ is already available for SPS Dual8, for dual interface cards, and Hybrid8, for hybrid cards, with a gold or silver finish. SPS is already in advanced talks with several governments for the adoption of this feature. The new CMI+ security feature builds upon the longstanding expertise of SPS in physical security for ID documents. CMI, Customized Module Image, which consists in including government symbols in the center of the micromodule, has already been adopted by many governments worldwide for cards as diverse as national ID cards, foreigner residence cards, military cards, agent cards, etc.

Dominique Charrie, SPS Marketing Director for government products, explains: “Fighting against counterfeiting has been the essence of SPS technology development for many years. With CMI+, we are bringing a breakthrough in security for governments as adding material is substantially more difficult for counterfeiters than removing it.”

This new CMI+® completes the SPS offer for distinctive security features that reinforce the security of the ID document:

·        CMI® - Custom Module Image - Customized Module Image that allows having a specific image engraved on center of the micromodule,

·        CAI® – Custom Antenna Image – a technology allowing to design a watermark on the antenna including the issuer specific coat of arms, symbols or any image.

SPS eBoost® inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), is easy to integrate for all smart card manufacturers. As there is no physical connection between the small antenna embedded in the micromodule and the large antenna etched inside the card, cards are more durable and easily stand the 10 to 15 years life expectancy typically required for identity applications.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 200 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Dominique Charrie, Marketing Director for ID products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 88 34

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS significantly increases the life span of PVC cards thanks to Premium S-Lam® integrating Lobra adhesive

SPS, a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, is proud to announce it expands its product range with the Premium S-Lam®, developed in collaboration with Lobra AG. The Premium S-Lam® considerably extends the life span of PVC bank cards, while complying with the requirements of the most demanding customers.

ROUSSET, FRANCE and THAL, SWITZERLAND, 15th June 2020 – Financial institutions are in an increasingly competitive situation where they have to diversify their card offer while keeping costs under control. Until now, many banks were restrained in their choices by the limited duration of classical PVC that lead them to have replace payment cards before their nominal 4 or 5 years planned expiry. SPS is now introducing a solution to fit these market demands, developed with Lobra, a Swiss-based expert in adhesives: the Premium S-Lam®, that extends substantially the life span of dual interface PVC credit and debit cards.

Based on the company’s longstanding experience in coating and laminating, Lobra understood and took into account the specific requirements of some of the most demanding customers in terms of card durability. In response to this market need Lobra has provided SPS with an innovative product thus ensuring it keeps its performance over many years, preventing card delamination or peeling.

Lobra’s innovative product is laminated with the etched antenna to form the SPS Premium S-Lam®, integrating the SPS eBoost PAY® technology. Its exceptional resistance to aging has been qualified by extensive tests performed by Fogra (the Fogra Forschungsinstitut für Medientechnologien – Research Institute for Media Technologies), a German-based industry association specializing in evaluating the reliability and physical qualities of plastic products including plastic cards, ePassports and ID Cards.

SPS has been building upon its expertise in long life cycle documents developed for the identity industry in order to adapt it to the specific requirements of the banking card market. The identity market is not limited to ID cards and ePassports, it also includes a wide variety of PVC cards such as driving licenses, healthcare cards, voting cards, etc. that combine a need for a long life expectancy with a requirement for security features. As a result, the Premium S-Lam® is not only significantly more durable than regular PVC cards, it also remains compatible with all SPS security features for banking cards: colored core cards, colored modules, transparent cards and transparent windows, non-standard card formats, metallic or non-metallic foil, and more.

Andreas Looser, CEO of Lobra AG declares: “Our expertise allows us to develop adhesives that comply with most customer requirements. This innovative product has been designed for extended life duration, we can also deliver custom products that will have a specific resistance to peeling, a long shelf life or a specific visual aspect, on various types of plastic: PVC, PET, PC and ecofriendly materials. Our adhesives, combined with SPS technology, always make us reactive to specific market demands.”

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Banking Product Marketing Director at SPS, adds: “With the inception of Premium S-Lam®, we are allowing financial institutions to benefit from technologies initially developed for the identity market. This way banks can issue long lifetime cards with a combination of security features that provide them with a unique brand image representation of the issuing financial institution.”

SPS eBoost PAY® inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), is easy to integrate for all smart card manufacturers. As there is no physical connection between the small antenna embedded in the micromodule and the large antenna etched inside the card, cards are more durable and reliable. SPS eBoost PAY® micromodules for dual interface cards can be small (Dual6 micromodule) or large (Dual8 micromodule) to adapt easily to the wide variety of artworks designed by financial institutions marketing teams. Moreover, SPS eBoost PAY® supports all chips and all operating systems commonly used in the payment card environment.

About Lobra AG

Lobra AG is a coating company based in Switzerland that specializes in coating solutions for plastic cards and passports. Thanks to our own coating and adhesive development, customer-specific solutions can be optimally adapted to the process and product.

Innovation, flexibility and quality awareness are  of highest importance. With a production site and 18 employees, Lobra AG exports its products all over the world. More information at http://www.lobra.ch

Contact

Andreas Looser, CEO, Lobra AG, andreas.looser@lobra.ch, Phone: +41 71 844 54 00

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 200 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies.

More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com,
Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS introduces its new Dual6 ID micromodule with a reduced size allowing more space on ID documents while improving security features

SPS, a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, introduces its Dual6 ID micromodule that combines a surface reduced by 40% with the advantages of inductive coupling technology to allow dual interface ID document issuers to benefit from more space for personalization along with always-improved security features.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, November 18th, 2019 – Identity document card surface is becoming increasingly constrained as issuers are in need of including always more printed items: government mentions, identity data of cardholders, names, addresses, identifiers, or even multiple languages. As SPS new Dual6 ID micromodule is 40% smaller than the previous Dual8 ID, this frees a considerable card space for designers to be able to print more data on the card body while keeping its aesthetic and projecting a positive government image.

The new Dual6 micromodule also supports SPS exclusive CMI® - Custom Module Image – which allows to print the coat of arms of the state, or any image relating to the issuer on the micromodule itself. This way, what was previously a lost technical space on the card becomes an active security feature.

SPS Dual6 micromodule is compatible with all types of card bodies including polycarbonate, PVC, PET and composite materials. It supports all chips commonly used for dual interface cards in the identity segment with all types of operating systems.

Dominique Charrie, SPS Marketing Director for government products declares: “SPS constantly adapts to government demands: as there is always a need to print more data on a limited card surface, with our new Dual6 ID, we reduce the space occupied by the micromodule while turning it into an additional security feature”.

SPS eBoost® inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), is easy to integrate for all smart card manufacturers. As there is no physical connection between the small antenna embedded in the micromodule and the large antenna etched inside the card, cards are more durable and easily stand the 10 to 15 years life expectancy typically required for identity applications.

SPS eBoost® inductive coupling technology allows to include SPS distinctive security features that reinforce the security of the ID document:

·        CAI® – Custom Antenna Image – a technology allowing to design a watermark on the antenna including the issuer specific coat of arms, symbols or any image,

·        CMI® - Custom Module Image - Customized Module Image that allows having a specific image engraved on the micromodule.

SPS now offers two options for government ID card issuers:

·        Dual6 ID (8,3 x 11mm) freeing more card surface to print data,

·        Dual8 ID (11,8x13 mm), which allows to print a larger CMI® coat of arms on the micromodule.

SPS – IN Groupe will be exhibiting on booth F 022 at Trustech, taking place on November 26-28, 2019 in Cannes, France.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 200 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Dominique Charrie, Marketing Director for ID products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 88 34

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS offer is fully aligned with the marketing needs of Fintech and traditional issuers of payment cards

SPS, a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, supports Fintech as well as traditional financial institutions in reinforcing their customer relationship, by bringing them differentiation means and ways to satisfy the most demanding cardholders.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, November 12, 2019 – In an always more competitive market, financial institutions are increasingly in need of differentiation when it comes to their payment cards. Typically, Fintech, or neo-banks, want to show their innovation capacity through the image carried by their banking cards while established financial institutions need to microsegment their clientele and to provide to each segment a card reflecting their status. SPS has developed a set of technologies that help issuers achieve these goals.

The world’s most famous neo-banks have chosen to use SPS technologies for their payment cards. These Fintech use technology components such as transparent cards, metallic or non-metallic foil or colored edges for specific card designs, to develop their innovation image.

Traditional financial institutions are in need of fine segmentation of their clientele; especially as they want to provide a status symbol to their high-end customers. Thus, they need to be able to have different physical features for different cards. Many financial institutions are now offering cards with metallic foil artworks, heavy cards or even metal cards to their high end cardholders.

SPS proposes an extensive series of physical features on cards that allow debit and credit card issuers to bring differentiation to their card portfolio. The flexibility brought by SPS e-Boost PAY® technology allows card vendors to easily manufacture cards including technology components such as:

·        Metallic or non-metallic foil, allowing a wide variety of text and designs in metallic inks to satisfy specific client segments,

·        Colored core cards, a means of differentiation between different card series as the color is visible on the card edge,

·        Transparent cards and transparent windows that allow cardholders to actually see through the card,

·        Non-standard card formats, which make issuers stand out of the pack,

·        Heavy cards that give a feeling of status to their cardholders,

·        Metal cards that bring even more status as they combine their weight with a metallic aspect and a metal noise when they are dropped,

·        CAI®, Customized Antenna Image, allowing to integrate a specific antenna that includes the financial institution logo or any other pattern,

·        CMI®, Customized Module Image, allowing to engrave any pattern on the surface of the micromodule, showing the bank logo or any other specific symbol specific to the card series micro-segmented target.

With SPS eBoost PAY® technology, all these features are easy to integrate for card manufacturers, leading card issuers, Fintech and traditional financial institutions alike, to combine them freely in order to fine-tune their card offer and reflect the micro segmentation defined by their marketing teams.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, marketing director for banking products at SPS declares: “The banking card sector is becoming increasingly diverse and complex at the same time as financial institutions are always asking for more differentiation and a finer segmentation of their clientele. SPS is aligning the road map of  its eBoost PAY® product line to respond to current and future market needs while ensuring reliability, security and compliance with regulatory requirements.”

SPS eBoost PAY® inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), is easy to integrate for all smart card manufacturers. As there is no physical connection between the small antenna embedded in the micromodule and the large antenna etched inside the card, cards are more durable and reliable. SPS eBoost PAY® micromodules for dual interface cards can be small (Dual6 micromodule) or large (Dual8 micromodule) to adapt easily to the wide variety of artworks designed by financial institutions marketing teams. Moreover, SPS eBoost PAY® supports all chips and all operating systems commonly used in the payment card environment.

SPS – IN Groupe will be exhibiting on booth F 022 at Trustech, taking place on November 26-28, 2019 in Cannes, France.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 200 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Jean Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com
Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS enters into an exclusive and worldwide patent licence agreement for Paragon ID’s copper wire embedded inductive coupling technologies

In recent years, the IN GROUPE, with its subsidiary, SPS, and PARAGON ID, through its subsidiary AMATECH, have each developed and patented inductive coupling technologies.  These include inlays and antennas used by their respective customers in a variety of final products such as contactless dual interface cards and electronic passports.

Today PARAGON ID, AMATECH and SPS are happy to announce that they have entered into an exclusive, worldwide patent licence agreement related to the copper wire embedded inductive coupling technologies of the PARAGON ID group.

According to this agreement, SPS will have the right to use these technologies patented by AMATECH, and notably the sole right to sublicense and assert the patent rights related to past and future deployed products on the market, particularly products based on wired antennas such as dual interface cards.

The parties believe that the deal will contribute to further spread the use of the patented technologies, and thereby create additional value for the parties and their customers.

Philippe Patrice, SPS President stated: “This agreement comes within the scope of our asserted global strategy of building and protecting our portfolio of technologies in the constantly growing contactless cards market, for the benefit of our clients and for the overall market itself.”

Clem Garvey, CEO at PARAGON ID stated: « We are delighted to further develop our relationship with SPS and the IN GROUPE in signing this important agreement. SPS is recognized internationally as a global leader in inductive coupling solutions and their adoption of our copper-wire booster antenna technology is a testament to the quality and innovation of our intellectual property in this field, for which we thank them. SPS will be deploying this technology in both Payment and e-ID markets, worldwide, faster and more efficiently than we might have done on our own, or with any other potential partner. This agreement will also allow us to concentrate our R&D energies and investments in further developing our world class IP and technologies for dual interface metal card products. »

 About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Located in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 190 people. The company is specialized in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at www.s-p-s.com

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

Press contact: Philippe Lauri, Philippe.lauri@ingroupe.com

About IN GROUPE

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics. From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secured digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Press contact: Romain Galesne-Fontaine, romain.galesne-fontaine@ingroupe.com

About PARAGON ID

Paragon ID is a leader in identification solutions, in particular in the e-ID, Transport & Smart Cities and Traceability & Brand Protection sectors. It has recently entered the area of Payment through its acquisition of Amatech Group.

Paragon ID employs more than 600 staff, with manufacturing sites in US and Europe, close to its customers.

Paragon ID is listed on Euronext Paris with a majority of its shares being held by Paragon Group, a leading provider of Identification and Customer Communications services. Paragon Group has a turnover in excess of €800 million (2018 fiscal year) and over 6,000 employees.

For further information about Paragon Group, visit www.paragon-europe.com.

Euronext Paris - Share identification: Paragon ID - ISIN Code: FR0013318813 - Mnemonic code: PID.

For further information about Paragon ID, visit Paragon-id.com.

Contacts

Paragon ID
Clem Garvey
CEO
Tél. : +33 2 48816100
clem.garvey@paragon-id.com

ACTUS finance & communication

Investor relations
Mathieu Omnes
Tél. : +33 (0)1 53 67 36 92
momnes@actus.fr

ACTUS finance & communication
Press contact
Alexandra Prisa
Tél. : +33 (0)1 53 67 36 90
aprisa@actus.fr

850 million inductive coupling platforms worldwide take advantage of SPS versatile yet affordable technology

Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS), a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing

technologies, is proud to announce that by the end of 2019, it will have delivered over 850 million

eBoost® inductive coupling platforms demonstrating that its technology is both easy to introduce and

versatile for card manufacturers, allowing them to manufacture all types of cards with a single

process.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, September 23, 2019 – The payment card industry is experiencing at the same time

a strong growth in terms of volumes and an increasing diversity in card characteristics. SPS eBoost®

inductive coupling technology is perfectly suited to support card manufacturers in offering a high

diversity of products to the card issuers while keeping their production costs under control, which leads

the industry to have used over 850 million SPS eBoost® inductive coupling platforms by the end of 2019.

Inductive coupling technology, which consists in using electromagnetic coupling between the antenna

and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna), is easy to integrate for all

smart card manufacturers. They can keep on using the same equipment for contactless or dual interface

cards as the one they have been using for contact cards, thus reducing their capital expenditures. With

SPS eBoost® inductive coupling technology, card manufacturers are able to produce all types of cards:

contactless cards, dual interface cards, hybrid cards and contact cards, using the same equipment and

the same process. This fact brings them not only huge savings in terms of production costs, but also a

simplification of their logistics, while allowing them to provide their customers with an extensively

diverse offer.

Besides technology, the banking card sector is becoming increasingly diverse and complex at the same

time as financial institutions are always asking for more differentiation and a finer segmentation of their

markets. Differentiation is needed even for entry level cards, with colored edge cards or non-ISO card

formats that are easily produced with inductive coupling technology. Mid-range cards, as defined by the

issuers, are using a variety of features such as metallic or non-metallic foil for specific artwork designs,

transparent cards, colored edges, custom antenna (CAI®, Customized Antenna Image) or custom

modules (CMI®, Customized Module Image), all of which are easily manufactured with inductive

coupling and ensure card vendors will consolidate their margin levels. High end cards, defined by low

volumes and high margins for card vendors, typically heavy cards or metal cards for financial institutions

wanting to provide status symbols to their high end cardholders, are perfectly compatible with inductive

coupling technology.

Evidence is brought by the wide adoption of the inductive coupling technology across the smart card

industry: the three leading card manufacturing industrialists all include inductive coupling technology in

their offer while over a hundred smaller card manufacturers are also proposing the technology to their

customers, the card issuers. This wide adoption of the technology combined with its qualities in terms

of cost and versatility leads SPS to announce it will have delivered over 850 million inductive coupling

platforms by the end of 2019, thus demonstrating the fact that the technology is mature and delivered

in high volumes.

Stéphane Livet, VP Sales Asia at SPS declares: “As payment card markets are at the same time

increasingly diverse and increasingly competitive, card manufacturers, especially in the Asia Pacific

region, realize that the only technology that brings them a total versatility while being easy to integrate

and cost-effective is SPS eBoost® inductive coupling.”

SPS will be exhibiting on booth SE38 at Smart Cards Expo, taking place on

September 25-27, 2019 at the India Expo Center, Greater Noida, Delhi, India.

This will be the opportunity for visitors to obtain answers to all the questions

they may have about SPS eBoost® inductive coupling, its ease of integration

and versatility.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document

manufacturers. SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of

contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered

in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 190 people. The company specializes in

contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over

120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Jean Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure

digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global

specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's

life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their

integrity.

Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental

right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of

which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine | +33 1 40 58 30 00 | media@ingroupe.com

SPS CMI® on Dual 6 brings new customization options to banking card issuers

Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS), a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, is introducing CMI®, Customized Module Image, on the SPS Dual 6 module allowing banking card issuers and the whole banking card ecosystem to develop an even more customized card solution, while remaining simple to deploy and easy to market.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, June 24, 2019 – In the context of the ongoing global migration to dual interface cards, SPS is always listening to the needs expressed by banking card issuers. In a market where there are more and more  credit card program and schemes, issuers are looking to differentiate their card in order to reach the top of wallet position.

New issuers, often FinTech or neo-banks, are increasingly looking for means to differentiate their offer from the traditional players and attract an innovation image. On the other hand, large financial institutions are micro-segmenting their clientele and expanding their palette of services, thus their card offer.

SPS CMI®, Customized Module Image, allows to engrave any logo on the surface of the micromodule. This technology is now available with all module sizes: SPS Dual 6 and Dual 8 micromodules. Depending on financial institutions’ demand, the logo on the module can be the one of the bank, of a payment scheme, or dedicated logos for micro-segmented offers or co-branded cards. Showing the brand image on the module conveys a high-end image and privileged feeling to the cardholder.

With SPS CMI®, Customized Module Image, card manufacturers are able to expand their offer and respond more effectively to issuer demands without changing anything in their manufacturing process or equipment, nor the requirement of a new certification.

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Banking Product Marketing Director at SPS, declares: “SPS takes into account the evolutions in the markets demands from payment card issuers to support card manufacturers in offering them an ever-increasing choice of options. CMI™ is extremely easy to implement for card vendors and allows them to bring financial institutions a new high-end customization option.”

CMI®, Customized Module Image, can be combined with SPS full set of features for banking cards:

·        Dual 6 and Dual 8 micromodules, that allow to keep the same design for dual interface cards as for legacy contact cards, without any change on the previously approved artwork,

·        Metallic and non-metallic foil technologies, to have expanded choices in terms of artwork designs,

·        Colored edges, allowing card issuers to offer additional differentiation on their cards for segmented markets,

·        Transparent cards and transparent windows, answering a frequent demand from banking card graphic designers,

·        Metal cards and heavy cards, for financial institutions wanting to provide status symbols to their high end cardholders,

·        Non-standard card formats, which make banking cards from these issuers stand out from the pack.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 190 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Jean Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS introduces C-Lam®, a highly durable contactless ID solution

Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS), a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, introduces C-Lam®, a new polycarbonate solution for high durability contactless ID documents, built to answer to the requirements from the most demanding ID document issuers in terms of reliability and lifespan.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, June 5th, 2019 – Thanks to its longstanding experience in the world of ID documents SPS introduces C-Lam®, a new solution using polycarbonate that combines robustness, life expectancy and artwork design flexibility. Building upon the well-known and qualified SPS inductive coupling process, C-Lam consists of a new polycarbonate prelaminate with an inductive coupling antenna and contactless module.

Developed by SPS, an independent smart card technology expert, C-Lam can be delivered with chips from many semiconductor and OS vendors, qualified for contactless ID applications.

C-Lam inherits the advantages of SPS inductive coupling technology. A small antenna is built into the micromodule around the chip and it resonates with a larger antenna which is aluminum etched on the support. As a result, there is no physical connection between the chip and the large antenna annihilating the risk of failure.

While C-Lam is a polycarbonate prelaminate, it is intrinsically crack resistant: the aluminum antenna is etched on a crack-resistant support, making the prelam itself crack-resistant. This leads card manufacturers to deliver more resistant cards to their customers.

With C-Lam, designers experience a new flexibility: they can define a contactless card layout without any visible module freeing more space for information and allowing to remain visually consistent with other contactless, or even chipless, designs.

An additional security feature can be added to ID documents based on C-Lam, as it supports CAI® – Custom Antenna Image – a technology allowing to design the antenna shape to include the issuer specific coat of arms, symbols or any image. This way the authenticity of a card can easily be verified by transparency by any law enforcement officer.

Smart card manufacturers can easily integrate SPS C-Lam in their production, without having to change their equipment, process or logistics flows. C-Lam is seamlessly laminated between card bodies, in a regular smart card manufacturing process without requiring any new development or recertification.

Dominique Charrie, Marketing Director, ID products, at SPS, declares: “We developed C-Lam as a chip-agnostic solution, in collaboration with smart card manufacturers, in order to answer to the most demanding requirements expressed by issuers: extra-long durability, robustness and more space for the printing of personalization data.”

SPS will take part in the Identity Week event, at the London Excel center on June 11-13, 2019. SPS will be exhibiting at the stand S103 in the SDW section of the event. Dominique Charrie will be participating in a roundtable on Tuesday, June 11, entitled “Which physical support is needed to effectively integrate digital ID?”

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 140 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Dominique Charrie, Marketing Director for ID products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 88 34

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

IN Groupe invests in its industrial infrastructure and doubles the production capacity dedicated to its SPS product line

IN Groupe, global specialist in identity and secure digital services, expands its production capacity, supply chain and customer service functions dedicated to its banking and identity SPS product lines to support the fast increasing demand.

 Paris, FRANCE, May 22, 2019 – IN Groupe is facing a significant surge in demand for its SPS products both in the identity and banking segment. This product traction is especially fueled by the booming demand for dual interface banking cards in Asia, North and Latin America on top of the regular growth in all the other regions.

To anticipate this growing demand, IN Groupe has decided to launch a strong expansion plan several months ago dedicated to its SPS branded product line, that sees the company expand in a new building allowing it to double its production capacity and to reach 600 to 800 million units production capacity by 2020. IN Groupe already doubled its production capacity dedicated to its SPS product line over the last two-year period, reaching 300 million units in 2018.

The expansion touches all aspects of SPS organization: besides its production lines, IN Groupe is also expanding its supply chain and office capacity dedicated to SPS to always improve its customer service and to serve better smart card industrialists worldwide. The new building extension will mainly be dedicated to new office and logistic activities, and free more space for production in current facilities.

IN Groupe production dedicated to SPS is based on a combination of internal manufacturing and production hosted at a set of qualified manufacturing partners. SPS develops and industrializes its own products and manufacturing processes before expanding the production with its manufacturing partners. This way, along with a permanent quality control, the company ensures a maximum flexibility and customer proximity.

Philippe Patrice, VP of IN Groupe and CEO of SPS, declares: “Thanks to the extension of our production and support services, we are in an always better position to serve smart card vendors bringing them the best combination between innovation and a reliable supply chain, allowing them to supply card issuers with best in class contactless and dual interface cards.”

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Located in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 140 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Olivier Brunet, Marketing Director, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 44

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine, Communication Director   |   +33 1 40 58 87 15     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS appoints Itochu as Japan representative to make the Japanese manufacturers of banking cards and identity documents benefit from its inductive coupling technology

Smart Packaging Solutions (SPS), a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, has appointed Itochu, one of the largest Japanese  trading companies, as its representative for Japan, a key market in Asia.

ROUSSET, FRANCE, 18th April 2019– The new agreement between SPS and Itochu builds upon more than 10 years of a sustained technology and commercial relationship between both companies. Thanks to Itochu market presence in Japan and their long-standing experience in commercializing industrial products, they will be able to propose SPS products to smart card and ePassport industrialists in Japan to tackle the growing opportunities that develop on this market.

The agreement between SPS and Itochu covers both the Banking and ID business lines. The Japanese card market is in a fast growth phase especially in anticipation of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020. In this context, the agreement between SPS and Itochu will make both companies become major players on the Japanese market, especially as payment cards in Japan are expected to be issued in dual interface mode by 2020. The identity business is also extremely dynamic in Japan, with a combination of eID cards, ePassports and a wide variety of commercial identity cards.

SPS already has a significant market presence in Asia, with a subsidiary in Singapore and numerous market wins in all Asian sub regions.

Stephane Livet, SPS VP sales for Asia declares: “Now, with this agreement with Itochu, we benefit from a strong partnership with one of the leading trading companies in Japan that will accelerate our presence on this market and ensure we will bring the advantages of our inductive coupling technology to Japanese card and passport manufacturers.”

SPS eBoost® inductive coupling allows card manufacturers to evolve easily from contact cards to dual interface, hybrid and contactless cards while keeping the same equipment and the same process. SPS inductive coupling is compatible with all communication protocols, chips and operating systems delivered by leading manufacturers for the smart card industry. SPS supports card manufacturers at all steps, from the selection process for card bodies and modules all the way to onsite support and precertification.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 140 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies.

Contact

Olivier BRUNET, Product & Marketing director, SPS, contact@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 44

SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com

SPS supports dual interface worldwide migration with its eBoost PAY® offer allowing card manufacturers to easily deliver all features requested by financial institutions

In the context of payment cards migration to dual interface technologies, SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) reaffirms its leadership position with an offer allowing all card features, which are in high demand from card issuers seeking to generate value for their clientele and to fulfill a wide variety of needs.

 ROUSSET, FRANCE, March 27th, 2019 – Thanks to its well-recognized eBoost PAY® product using inductive coupling technology, SPS, a world leader in contactless and dual interface card manufacturing technologies, has been working in close collaboration with smart card vendors for years. Now, on a global basis, payment cards are evolving to dual interface technology. While some regions have already switched to dual interface, Latin America, North America and Asia, have  not yet migrated and are undergoing this transition in 2019 and 2020. This migration represents a huge growth opportunity for card manufacturers.

 While technology is evolving, the bank cards portfolio is becoming more and more complex and card offers are more and more targeted with regards to the card user population. Financial institutions are segmenting their clientele to maximize card penetration and to adapt each card to the desires of its cardholder. SPS eBoost PAY® inductive coupling technology brings a maximum flexibility to card manufacturers and allows them to answer all banks’ requirements:

·        Module size: when designers have defined a card based on a large (8 contacts) or small (6 contacts) micro-module, they are often not willing to change their design. SPS eBoost PAY® comes with either Dual 8 or Dual 6 micro-modules, allowing to keep the same design for dual interface cards as for legacy contact cards, without any change on the previously approved artwork,

·        Foil technologies are used to bring differentiation to cardholders. SPS eBoost® PAY® is compatible with metallic and non-metallic foils that allow a wide variety of text and designs on mid-range and high-end cards,

·        Colored edges are increasingly demanded by banking card designers: as of now, on some markets, over 50% of cards are issued with colored edges. Manufacturers can build their cards using SPS eBoost® PAY® technology colored cores leading to an easy implementation of cards with colored edges,

·        Transparent cards and transparent windows in opaque cards: SPS designs its pre-laminated antennas according to each customer request. SPS antennas can be designed using totally or partially transparent materials allowing card vendors to propose transparent cards to financial institution designers,

·        Metal cards: financial institutions want to reward their high-end customers with metal cards marketed as a status symbol. As SPS eBoost PAY® uses inductive coupling technology between the chip and its antenna, communication between the card and the reader is unhindered by interference issues that may arise when making metal cards with other technologies,

·        Heavy cards: another status symbol used in payment cards is adding a heavier weight within the card. Thanks to SPS eBoost PAY® flexibility, making cards heavier than usual is easy as additional material can be added without interfering with the card communication functionalities,

·        Non-standard format cards: financial institutions are using cards that are not fully following the ISO 7810 ID-1 format as they include curved edges and  other patterns. As SPS designs antennas for each demand, the eBoost PAY® process is fully compatible with these non-ID-1 format cards. This way card vendors can answer all requirements from card issuers. 

Jean-Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director, Banking Products at SPS, declares: “We are enthusiastic to see the evolution of the market towards dual interface cards on a worldwide basis. With SPS eBoost PAY® technology, we provide card manufacturers with the utmost support to fulfill not only all known demands but even the most unusual requirements from card issuers.”

Based on inductive coupling, SPS eBoost PAY® technology is based on electromagnetic coupling between the antenna and the module (no physical connection between the chip and the antenna). SPS eBoost PAY® ensures the cards are significantly more reliable and durable than cards manufactured with other technologies. In addition, SPS eBoost PAY® brings card industrialists a total flexibility as the same process is used to manufacture contact, contactless, dual interface and hybrid payment cards. SPS eBoost PAY® technology is certified by major brands, Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Discover and supports all payment-dedicated chips and OS (Operating System) delivered by major suppliers.

Smart Packaging Solutions will be exhibiting on booth 105 at ICMA Expo, a trade show taking place from March 31st to April 3rd 2019, in Orlando, Fla., USA. Visit our booth to have the opportunity to obtain more information about our offer and meet our experts.

About SPS

With the SPS brand, IN Groupe opens its secure components technology to all card and document manufacturers. SPS (Smart Packaging Solutions) is specialized in the design, manufacturing and sale of contactless solutions dedicated to ID cards, e-passport and dual interface banking cards. Headquartered in Rousset, France, with a subsidiary in Singapore, SPS employs 140 people. The company specializes in contactless and dual-interface products, with a recognized micro packaging expertise. SPS has filed over 120 patents supporting its exclusive technologies. More information at http://www.s-p-s.com

Contact

Jean Baptiste Leos, Marketing Director for banking products, SPS, contactsps@s-p-s.com

Phone: +33 4 42 53 84 83

 SPS is part of the IN Groupe.

A partner of the French government for close to 500 years, IN Groupe offers identity solutions and secure digital services, at the leading edge of technology and integrating electronics and biometrics.

From components to services and from documents to interoperable systems, IN Groupe is a global specialist in identity and secure digital services. The institution plays a daily role in facilitating everyone's life: helping states exercise their sovereignty, citizens protect their identity and businesses preserve their integrity. 
Whatever the issue, IN Groupe, a company for digital sovereignty, contributes to asserting a fundamental right for everyone: the right to be you.

Based in Paris, the IN Groupe has two production centers and employs more than 1000 employees, of which over a third is dedicated to technology development.

Contact: IN Groupe

Romain Galesne-Fontaine   |   +33 1 40 58 30 00     |     media@ingroupe.com