RP to benefit from 'smart card' technology

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines stands to gain from the benefits of contactless or “smart” card technology which is now being used by most banks in the world, a local card producer said over the weekend.

In a statement,  Allcard Philipines said contactless smart card technology has been in existence for two decades now and has been proven reliable in other countries.

“The danger is the possibility of our (present) system not being recognized by other countries which are using contactless card technology,” said Allcard marketing manager Franz Reyes.

“Asia is modernizing. With Southeast Asia developing into a regional economy, how can we Filipinos transact in, say Taiwan,  Japan, Singapore or even Thailand if we don’t have or don’t know how to use contactless smart card technology?” he added.

Allcard, the leading and fastest-growing card producer in the Philippines currently services  nine of the top 10 banks in the Philippines. Allcard says the Philippines is now ready for such a system.

According to Reyes, contactless smart card technology enables the user to avail of the tremendous benefits of a fully interactive world. With just a swipe of the smart card, users instantaneously connect themselves to a system which allows them to do transactions. Users can also modify or add information stored in a smart card’s 32 kilobyte memory. Using a reader, the card can then be read by the system.

Credit card companies and banks first began using contactless smart card technology a decade ago. Reyes said the potentials of the technology are enormous that governments are beginning to use it to enhance and improve public services.

According to Reyes, the Kuwaiti government, for example, has issued three million electronic multi-application  identification cards to its citizens as part of its efforts to comply with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) regulation designed to allow citizens of all Gulf countries to travel between member states.

Reyes said the issued card serves as the official identification card of a Kuwaiti citizen. The smart card is embedded with a 32kb memory chip secured and encrypted with the card users’ information.

China, meanwhile, is on the verge of completing its $ 3.5 billion national identification smart card program. The program aims to provide 900 million smart cards to be used by Chinese citizens in their government transactions.  Recently, China Expert Technology has received a $57-million order for e-government systems in Fuzhou City in Fujian province. China wants a contactless card security system.

Meanwhile, 96 percent of Taiwan’s citizens  are enjoying the benefits of a healthcare program using smart card technology. With the implementation in 2005 of the technology, Taiwan’s National Health Care Program has saved close to $2.8 billion in health-related expenditures alone.  Twenty two million Taiwanese now enjoy free medical services with just a swipe of their contactless smart cards, connecting them to 17,000 medical facilities throughout the island state.