Technology Enables Oval Wristband and Postage Stamp-Sized Fob
DALLAS, Nov. 6 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A contactless payment key fob
smaller than the keys on your keychain and a thin oval-shaped wristband are
just two of the payment possibilities enabled by Texas Instruments (TI)
Incorporated’s (NYSE: TXN) ISO/IEC 14443 contactless payment chip and
antenna packages. The release of the industry’s smallest payment products,
fully MasterCard PayPass certified, brings new versatility and convenience to
the contactless payments industry, as issuing banks explore a range of form
factors, from traditional cards to fobs and wristbands.
TI has delivered its postage stamp-sized inlay in PVC pre-laminate form
to Oberthur Card Systems for development of its VersaFOB keyfob, and its oval-
shaped payment product to MasterCard for its PayPass wristband.
TI’s secure microcontroller-based contactless PVC pre-laminates contain
its ISO/ IEC 14443 chip, payment application and the industry’s smallest
fully-certified RF (Radio Frequency) antennas. The postage stamp-sized inlay
antenna measures 20 mm x 25 mm and the oval-shaped inlay antenna is 41 mm x
20 mm. TI’s chip operates at extremely low power using a tiny RF antenna to
deliver a fast transaction speed (typically 120 milliseconds) and a four
centimeter read range, which enables a successful transaction the first time
a customer “taps” the fob to the payment reader. The chip and payment
application software are also approved by MasterCard to operate in dynamic
CVC3 transaction authorization mode which offers issuers the highest level of
security available.
The company designs its contactless PVC pre-laminates in a range of
innovative keyfob and wristband form factors, so that card manufacturers can
offer payment devices to issuers in a variety of shapes and sizes. TI’s
contactless payment technology supports credit, debit and pre-paid
transactions.
“TI’s ability to create such a small antenna to fit our unique VersaFOB
concept allows us to produce MasterCard PayPass certified contactless payment
fobs that can be personalized and mass-produced using standard processes,
lowering costs for our banking clients while offering them a unique
product,” said Francine Dubois, director of marketing, financial products &
services, Oberthur Card Systems of America.
“TI has delivered leaf-shaped PVC pre-laminate with an embedded chip and
antenna that is a perfect fit for our PayPass wristbands,” said Richard
Fletcher, Group Head, Mobile/Wireless, MasterCard Worldwide. “At sporting
events, for example, consumers with PayPass-enabled wristbands can enjoy
faster service for concessions so they can quickly get back to watching the
game.”
“The ways to pay via contactless come in devices of limitless variety,
shape and size,” said Trevor Pavey, manager of contactless payments, TI.
“Our ability to develop RF antennas about the size of a quarter, combined
with our fast PayPass-certified chip and software, leads the way for new
small form factors.”
In February 2006, TI announced the availability of the first in its line
of MasterCard PayPass-certified payment solutions, an ISO/IEC 14443 PVC pre-
laminate card for card manufacturers delivering credit and debit cards for
MasterCard issuing banks.
About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments is the world’s largest integrated manufacturer of
radio frequency identification (RFID) transponders and reader systems.
Capitalizing on its competencies in high-volume semiconductor manufacturing
and microelectronics packaging, TI is a visionary leader and at the forefront
of establishing new markets and international standards for RFID
applications. For more information, contact TI-RFid(TM) Systems at 1-800-962-
RFID (7343) (North America) or +1 214-567-7343 (International), or visit the
Web site at http://www.ti-rfid.com .
Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog
technologies to meet our customers’ real world signal processing
requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company includes the
Educational & Productivity Solutions business. TI is headquartered in
Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than
25 countries.
Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the
symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at
http://www.ti.com .
Trademarks
TI-RFid is a trademark of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks and
registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.