Netherlands Icbc Selects Tender

Gone are the days where cash was king in China. According to China Tech Insights report last year 74 percent of Chinese consumers said they could live for more than a month with only 100 RMB which is less than US15 in cash. To address this growing hunger for a swift and convenient payments ICBC the largest bank in China has awarded Gemalto a three-year agreement to continue supplying contactless cards. The contract addresses multiple card schemes-branded cards including Amex China UnionPay JCB Mastercard and Visa.Chinese consumers are increasingly turning to digital payment methods. According to the China Banking Association China had over seven billion bank cards in circulation by the end of 2017. With the governments strong push for POS upgrade in the past years Chinas contactless payments market particularly in the credit card segment is set to grow. Statistics show that there are over 31 million POS terminals installed in China with the majority compatible with contactless transactions.Built on Gemaltos solutions ICBCs dual-interface cards both contactless and chip enable consumers to make payments by inserting them into point-of-sale POS terminals or tapping them against contactless-enabled payment terminals. The latter presents a huge value to consumers as it is intuitive and can shorten the checkout time by 63 percent as compared to cash transactions.ICBCs cards follow the security of global EMV standards. They leverage Gemaltos smart chip not only to secure cardholders credentials but also encrypt its communication with the POS terminals and processing networks.As the digital security leader Gemalto has been partnering with ICBC for almost 20 years. Our solutions which are at the heart of modern life from payment to enterprise security are helping to support ICBCs global business expansion strategy and accelerate Chinas cashless revolution said Michael Au senior vice president Banking and Payment APAC for Gemalto.Dual interface payment cards will allow consumers to pay faster without compromising security. Since these cards can help improve operational efficiency and security we also hope this effort will encourage local merchants to adopt EMV chip and contactless-enabled POS.As China continues its chip card migration card schemes such as China UnionPay Mastercard and Visa are quickly adding contactless capabilities to their card base resulting in the country having the largest dual interface market in terms of annual volume.