Smart Card Adoption Accelerated by EMV Migration

Banks and other financial institutions compelled to adopt EMV technology are expected to be followed by private card operators to avoid liability in cases of fraud. However, successful acceptance has been restrained due to the high investment involved in implementing EMV. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, World Banking (Financial and Loyalty) Smart Card Market, reveals that revenues in this market totaled $453.3 million in 2003 and are projected to reach $1196.3 million in 2008. Low levels of knowledge, lack of bank internal expertise, and unavailability of in-house equipment to support smart card issuance are slowing the speed of implementation. For some banks, a marked lack of support and poor understanding of the EMV migration amongst decision makers at the managerial level tend to derail or delay the migration exercise. Legacy infrastructure is another hindrance to the acceptance of the technologically advanced smart card technology. Replacing legacy systems and infrastructure will take time in some regions, despite greater efforts to accelerate the migration to smart cards banking, payment, and loyalty cards from the institutions. This could be due to several factors such as high initial investment, minimal fraud rate, and lack of business case. EMV migration extends its influence even in the retail sector as it influences the retail loyalty market. EMV deployment requires point-of-sale (POS) terminals to be upgraded to accept credit and debit smart cards or retailers will face the liability for card fraud. World Banking (Financial and Loyalty) Smart Card Market, part of the Global Smart Card Subscription, examines the global banking (financial and loyalty) smart card markets and offers a competitive analysis of the market share of key participants. This research service provides comprehensive overview of the sector with a global analysis. Market drivers and restraints are also included for end-user benefit. Executive summaries and analyst interviews are available to the press.