Near Field Communications Handsets and Tags, NFC Pilots and Projects

Innovision to supply tags for Chinese smart card vendor

Friday, April 17, 2009

UK-based RFID design firm Innovision Research & Technology has signed a deal with a Chinese smart card vendor. Under the terms of the contract, Innovision will develop and supply custom contactless smart card tag technology for the firm, which works in the contactless smart card and ticketing markets in China. The deal represents Innovision’s first foray into China.


The initial contract between the companies covers two projects, for which Innovision will supply advanced analog, digital and EEPROM tag technology to be integrated with that of the customer. The contract is expected to be worth at least a million dollars to Innovision over the next few years, with the revenue coming from both the development of the specific technology and royalties.

“We told our investors that we were intending to make a first entry into the Chinese market, where we hope to tap into the large potential market for our technology, particularly RFID tags,” says Innovision CEO David Wollen in reference to the deal. “It is also significant to Innovision as it complements recent large NFC contracts we have won and it addresses different markets, with different products and with shorter-term revenue potential.”

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The Smart Card Alliance Transportation Council has published a white paper examining how the transit industry can best make use of NFC technology.

“One of the major challenges facing transit agencies today is how to capitalize on the ever-growing popularity of mobile phones with a solid mobile strategy,” said Transportation Council Chairman Craig Roberts. “This white paper builds on the knowledge base developed in earlier white papers to foster a greater understanding of NFC technology, explain its role in the transit industry, and shed light on key issues facing the transit industry in developing a mobile strategy.”

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Identive Group Inc. has announced a deal to acquire a majority stake in Hamburg, Germany-based payment solution AG, a cashless payment system provider for stadiums, arenas and other types of entertainment venues.

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India-based market research firm RNCOS predicts a 16% increase in the Chinese smart card market, according to its new report “Smart Card Market Forecast to 2012.”

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The UK’s YESpay International and YES-wallet.com have teamed up to build an NFC-enabled cloud-based mobile payments platform.

By integrating the YES-wallet Pouch digital wallet with YESpay EMBOSS payment service, the companies will provide a platform that encompasses e-Money, pre-paid and gift-card payments based on Visa PayWave and MasterCard PayPass contactless standards.

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Turkcell, Turkey’s largest mobile operator, has announced the launch of a SIM-based NFC road toll payment application on the Turkcell T11 smart phone.

Developed in collaboration with Bank Asya, the app allows users to migrate their plastic KGS toll payment cards onto their T11 smart phone to pay for fares when crossing bridges and freeway turnpikes.

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Leo InnoTech (LIT) and UPM RFID have carried out a large-scale item-level RFID implementation for a Chinese apparel company focusing primarily on warehouse logistics optimization.

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