Its large consumer base and growing member-bank force enable Visa to introduce new payment products and technologies into the market. Lowered chip costs have resulted in a reduction in the cost of the smart card. Applications can be written once and offered to card issuers worldwide. There is no longer the need to write customized applications for each member bank. Security is also an important issue.
Merchants can also authenticate smart card users and update programs over the Internet.
With this additional functionality, Visa says the bottom line is that consumers will use smart cards more often and for more reasons. Momentum behind the Java Card platform is strong and seemingly growing stronger. Consumers are benefiting from this. Businesses are benefiting from this. Final Word from Gemplus Gemplus is the world's leading provider of smart card based solutions for security, wireless and e-business applications.