SIA has signed a deal with Gemalto for the introduction of an national TSM infrastructure for NFC payments in Italy. SIA's service will make use of Gemalto's Allynis Trusted Service Management for Service Providers platform and is currently being tested ahead of a full commercial launch in mid-2013.

"SIA has already secured the support of primary Italian telecom operators and banks to provide NFC services through its central hub" - says Gemalto. This will be the first national TSM infrastructure in Europe, the company adds, and "can be utilized by all of the market's key stakeholders".

"By creating a central hub, we meet the needs of both the banking and telecoms sectors fostering the NFC ecosystem and mobile payments," says Nicola Cordone, deputy general manager at SIA. "Using Gemalto's proven platform, SIA is allowing all stakeholders to avoid numerous individual arrangements when introducing new contactless services."

Learn more: NFC World                                                   

Gemalto's official press release

SIA CE as a cooperating partner is participating on the conference as well as on the “Street of Technology”exhibition area with introducing the newest solutions of SIA CE and the Group.

Participants can take a look at the future technology, like mobile NFC or contactless payment and have a walk on the ‘Street of Technology’ exhibition area which demonstrates the newest technologies and the evolution of money and payment solutions. 

Date: 26-27th March 2013

Venue: Hotel Hilton, Budapest, Hungary

More information

SIA CENTRAL EUROPE: NEW TRANSACTIONS RECORD
ACHIEVED IN HUNGARY IN 2012
 

 192 million payment transactions processed over the last year,
a +13% growth compared to 2011
 
New monthly peak with 10.7 million bankcard transactions in December
Over 70% of all operations using chip-based cards
 
Highest number of transactions: 507,000 on Friday, December 21st
  

Budapest, 17 January 2013 – SIA Central Europe achieved a new record in transactions in Hungary over the last year. In 2012, the hub of the SIA Group in Central Europe also focusing on card issuing and acquiring services, processed 192 million payment transactions compared to 170 million in 2011 (+13%). Of the total amount, 116 million are related to bankcards.

Nicola Cordone, Chairman SIA CE

In addition, SIA Central Europe achieved a new monthly peak with 10.7 million bankcard transactions managed in December. Over the last month of 2012, more than 70% of all payment operations were made with chip-based cards through an ever-wider acceptance network accessible to citizens. In the same period of 2011, this percentage was about 60% and 40% of transactions using magnetic stripe cards, which confirms the evolving process of migration to the safer chip cards.

During the ”Christmas Shopping Season”, the highest number of transactions was recorded on Friday, December 21st (about 507,000). Furthermore, the volume processed by SIA Central Europe that weekend grew by 14% compared to the two previous weekends.

Last year also showed the increasing popularity of contactless bankcards issued by Hungarian banks and the availability of NFC (Near Field Communication) terminals enabled also by SIA Central Europe. Last month, about 2% of the transactions were made through this innovative technology.

“These data confirm the growth of transactions in Hungary, where consumers have higher confidence in electronic payments which they perceive as more secure and convenient than cash – commented Nicola Cordone, Chairman of SIA Central Europe - We believe that innovation and technology can play a fundamental role in the spread of new payment services, including mobile solutions. SIA Central Europe continues to guarantee its strong support to Financial Institutions, Corporates and Public Administration bodies in this process both in Hungary and Central Eastern Europe.”

SIA Central Europe is the hub of the SIA Group in Central and Eastern Europe and a "competence center" for ATM and POS terminal management and transaction switching. The activities of SIA Central Europe focus on full processing (issuing and acquiring) of card transactions (debit/credit, prepaid, loyalty, gift and fuel cards), terminal management and value-added services, compliance and reporting for surveillance of operations on financial markets for major banking groups and network services for connectivity and messaging via the SIAnet broadband infrastructure.

Contacts: marketing@sia-ce.eu