MINNETONKA, MN (November 18) -- Datacard Group, the world leader in secure ID and card personalization solutions, and Barnes International, a leading provider in the development and supply of Chip Card Test Tools and Magnetic Stripe Analysers, today announced that they have integrated the Barnes smart card verification technology into the Datacard® MX Series Quality Assurance (QA) module.
Currently, the Datacard QA module systematically verifies both optical and electronic elements of each card that passes through the MX Series Platform to confirm accurate card personalization. By integrating the Barnes smart card verification technology into the QA module, financial organizations and commercial bureaus will now have the ability to easily verify that smart cards which are also run through the module are EMV compliant and conform to payment system operator’s requirements.
“We are very pleased to partner with Barnes on this as they are a well-respected organization that has vast knowledge and expertise in smart card verification technology,” said Dino Balafas, vice president central issuance product management for Datacard Group. “This integration combines the strengths of two leading companies so that we can continue to help our customers improve their card and credential programs, save time and money, and ultimately streamline operations.”
This is the first inline integration of Barnes smart card verification technology with any card personalization system on the market today. Before this integration, issuers could use a standalone offline Barnes CPT machine in which they could manually check each smart card to ensure it was EMV compliant.
“By utilizing Datacard Group’s QA module, issuers will have the ability to perform the same operation they can do today with their Barnes CPT system, only now, instead of having to do it manually, they can run cards through the Datacard QA module to have them automatically checked and verified,” said Brian Summerhayes, managing director of Barnes International. “This ultimately improves production efficiencies so that final personalization and QA is in one step.”
The Datacard QA module is part of Datacard Group’s MX Series Platform for central card issuance, which offers complete modulatory. This means that if customers currently own an MX Series Platform and want to add in the QA module to their inline solution, they can easily do that. The module is factory or field upgradable.
The combination of the QA module and Barnes’ smart card verification technology will first be made available to financial organizations, with plans of rolling it out to other markets. Both companies will be exhibiting at CARTES Paris, Nov 19 – 21, 2013, stands Datacard Group: #3E073 and Barnes: #3C037, and can discuss the benefits and address any questions regarding the product integration.
About Barnes
Barnes International is the world leader in the development and supply of Chip Card Test Tools and Magnetic Stripe Analysers. Barnes world class Test Tools enable the Manufacture and Issue of valid Magnetic stripe, Contact and Contactless EMV Chip Cards, ensuring quicker approval by Payment Schemes and minimising pre-issue costs. Its Test Tools for Laboratory, Manufacturing and Bureau include QC testing to ISO, EMV, Amex, JCB, MasterCard, Visa, CUP, Discover, Interac, SPAN, GlobalPlatform and GSM specifications. Barnes also offers EMV Consultancy and Card Testing. For further information on Barnes’ products and services, visit http://www.barnestest.com/. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
About Datacard Group
Datacard Group empowers financial institutions, government agencies and other enterprises in more than 150 countries to securely issue and personalize financial cards, passports, national IDs, employee badges, mobile payment applications and other credentials. Our flexible solutions enable Secure Issuance Anywhere™, which helps both public and private enterprises succeed in a global, digital and increasingly connected marketplace. Datacard is the world's best-selling brand of secure issuance solutions. For information, visit www.datacard.com. Follow us on Twitter, YouTube and LinkedIn.