News
Smarty Smart Card Ready to Roll
SmartDisk Corporation has planned a June roll-out of its Smarty smart card reader/writer for use with the Electronic Purse Services Program in Singapore. As a result of this initiative, the Smarty will now be deployed with two of the most popular cash cards in that country, the Visa Cash CashCard and the Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) CashCard.
"Electronic cash is becoming increasingly popular in Asia and other parts of the world," says Quresh Sachee, Vice President of Marketing and Sales at SmartDisk. "Through NETS, the Smarty becomes associated with one of the most popular electronic cash networks in Singapore. Visa already is offering Smarty to its Platinum smart card program members in Latin America, so this new rollout represents the broadening of that relationship on a global scale."
Smarty, which is the size and shape of a 3.5-inch floppy disk, allows consumers to access e-commerce products and services through a computer. One simply inserts the CashCard into the Smarty and then slips the Smarty into the computer's floppy drive. Transactions are then subtracted and recorded on the card. Smarty supports electronic commerce, banking, healthcare and government applications, and the high-level security that such transactions require including access control, network authentication and data certification.
Using Smarty, NETS CashCard and Visa Cash CashCard users will be able to shop online for games, eyewear, educational materials, groceries and other products from a variety of merchants. Users can load electronic cash onto the cards at automated teller machines, NETS Kiosks and designated gas stations.
In addition to Internet shopping, the Smarty can also be used for a range of other smart card applications. Smarty permits fast, 24-hour online electronic funds transfers for home banking customers. It also enables healthcare customers and providers to store and transfer important patient data over the Internet. Finally, Smarty is used with network security applications, allowing PC and network access control and authentication, secure storage of data and much more.
The Smarty already plays an important role in Visa International's Visa Platinum initiative, a smart card program in Visa's Latin America and Caribbean region that enables cardholders to gain access to their account information over the Internet.
Smarty will be available at retail outlets this June throughout Singapore, as well as through SmartDisk's Web site at www.smartdiskdirect.com/smarty.html.