The Official Publication of the International Card Manufacturers Association

August 2015 Volume 25 • No. 5

Non-Secure to Secure, Where to Begin?

How Long will Plastic Cards Really be Around?

Personal Identification and Secure Access Control

Ask an ACE: Q&A with Adam Lowe, PhD of CompoSecure, LLC

Showcase Your Business| By Jeffrey E. Barnhart

Over the past 25 years ICMA has made a point of creating an avenue for companies and individuals within the industry to network and explore business relationships. That avenue, built upon dedicated time spent at ICMA events such as the EXPO, North American Workshop and the EuroForum, has facilitated mergers and acquisitions, large sales revenue, long term careers and more. I am proud to say that by constructing this platform we have helped to bring together many organizations who may not have traditionally been in the same circle.

ICMA’s upcoming EuroForum and North American Workshop continues the tradition we built so many years ago. With dedicated time for table top exhibits, roundtables and traditional networking, one is sure to expand your business acumen and relationships. I urge you to take full advantage of this special member benefit. Connect with your peers, build new relationships and solidify current ones. Registration is now open for these events. You can learn more about registration costs and more on page 9. We hope to see everyone there.

Is Your Business on Social Media?| By Anna Lopez

Social media has taken the world by storm, with over a billion people around the world using it for personal and business use. At the 2015 ICMA EXPO, I gave a presentation on “The Impact of Social Media” and detailed many of the reasons why your business should utilize social media if it is not already. Twitter, Facebook,

and LinkedIn can help you generate tremendous online exposure for your brand, which allows you to showcase your product, services, employee engagement and more. Social media helps you listen to what others are saying, not only about your business but about the industry as a whole.

If you are looking to start your organization’s social media presence, here are a few quick tips to help you as you start your “social” journey:

• Go in with a clear set of goals and develop a social media strategy (what you’re trying to accomplish with your campaign)

• Choose the right platform(s) for your industry and target audience• Post timely and consistently • Don’t bite off more than you can chew (i.e. joining too many networks and/or

committing to posting too frequently) • Know the strengths of each network and use them to your advantage (i.e. Facebook,

photo driven platform; Twitter, utilize hashtags and trending keywords)• Measure success• Have fun while you’re at it – social media should never be a chore!

executive director

from the ICMA staff

is published by CMA Publications Group,a Creative Marketing Alliance Company,for ICMA.

Please submit all articles, news releases and advertising to:

CARD MANUFACTURING™

C/O: CMA191 Clarksville RoadPrinceton Junction,New Jersey 08550 USA

Founder/Executive DirectorJeffrey E. Barnhartjbarnhart@icma.com

Association ManagerLynn McCulloughlmccullough@icma.com

Communications Manager/ Managing EditorAnna Lopez alopez@icma.com

Membership Coordinator Michele Giovinemgiovine@icma.com

Project/Advertising Sales ManagerDiane Webster-Sweeneydwebster@icma.com

Public Relations Manager Ken Hitchner

Communications Greta Cuyler gcuyler@cmasolutions.com

Creative DirectorDave Sherwood

Founder/Industry AdvisorAlbert J. Vrancartavrancart@icma.com

TELEPHONE1-609-799-4900

INTERNETwww.icma.com

E-MAILinfo@icma.com

Card Manufacturing™ publishes information for the benefit of its members and readers. The sponsor, International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA), the publisher and the editors of Card Manufacturing™ cannot be held liable for changes, revisions or inaccuracies contained in the material published.For more detailed information on the product, programs, services or policies covered in Card Manufacturing™, it is recommended readers contact the appropriate person, company, agency or industry group.

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18

How Long will Plastic Cards

Really be Around?

Many in the card industry are wondering how much longer plastic cards will be around. Vrancart polled attendees at ICMA’s 2015 EXPO and their answers may surprise you.

| By Al Vrancart, ICMA Founder Emeritus

and Industry Advisor

Non-Secure to Secure,

Where to Begin?

Are you curious as to what it would take to make your non-secure facility more secure? This article details the steps your business should take if you are looking to integrate secure technology.

| By Devesh Pandit, President and CEO,

E4 Security Consulting, LLC

RECURRING SECTIONS F E A T U R E S

3 Executive Director’s Message

5 Member & Product News

9 Association News

22 ACE News

25 inCITE News

26 Industry News

28 Members on the Move

29 New Members

12

4 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

9 12

VOLUME 25 • NUMBER 5

AUGUST 2015

www.icma.com

COVER STORY14 Leaders Partner to Deliver Secure ID Card Solutions To combat the high instance of identity fraud and improve the overall student validation process at the time of the exam, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) in Nigeria has adopted a mobile ID system. Learn how this system was implemented and how now more than 2.2 million students register online and receive machine-readable smart cards every year.

| By Rob Haslam, HID Global and Babatope M. Agbeyo, Botosoft Technologies Limited

Personal Identification and

Secure Access Control

In this article David takes a look at the new standards that are being created to enhance security for governments around the world through driver’s licenses.

| By David Tushie, Magellan Consulting, Inc.,

ICMA Standards and Technical Representative

Ask an ACE: Q&A with Adam Lowe,

PhD of CompoSecure, LLC

A look at one of ICMA’s 211 members who is ACE-accredited and the impact it has had on his professional development.

| By Anna E. Lopez

c o n t e n t s

20

18 24

5w w w . i c m a . c o m

c o n t e n t sAccurate ID Checks Made Simple with New 3M Reader

Checking IDs is an important way for

businesses to protect against fraud

and comply with the law. But frontline

workers at places like restaurants, banks,

convenience stores, and mobile phone

retailers also perform many other tasks,

and may lack the specialized training to

confidently check IDs. Businesses need

a fast, accurate and easy-to-use way to

determine whether IDs are genuine.

The new 3M™ CR5400 Double-Sided ID1

Reader gives businesses a simple way

to confidently verify and authenticate

driver’s licenses, municipal ID cards,

insurance cards, and more. There is

no wrong way to insert a card into the

reader, so employees need little to no

training to use it. Users simply drop in an

ID and the reader checks it in less than

four seconds, reading the front and back

simultaneously to compare the printed

region, barcodes and magnetic stripe

data. Color-coded LED lights give the

user a real-time response—a green light

means the ID is valid. Once the card is

read, the reader automatically ejects it.

In addition to basic dual-side verification,

the CR5400 reader is also available with

optional software which checks govern-

ment-issued IDs against a database to

verify authenticity. The reader also has

an optional cradle for RFID and magnetic

stripe data reading.

For more information, please

www.mmm.com.

Entrust Datacard Integrates with Citrix Mobility Solution to Empower Mobile as New Desktop

Entrust Datacard announced it is work-

ing with Citrix, a company focused on

mobile workplaces, to drive productivity

and enhance security for the rapidly

growing mobile workforce. Entrust

Datacard is debuting new integrations

with XenMobile®, a comprehensive

enterprise mobility management (EMM)

solution developed by Citrix, to provide a

trusted mobile identity to secure access

to sensitive data and corporate informa-

tion—truly enabling mobile as the new

desktop. The integrations combine the

authentication and credential manage-

ment strengths of Entrust IdentityGuard

software with XenMobile’s business opti-

mized mobile productivity apps to deliver

secure and frictionless access for the

mobile worker and ease the onboarding

process for commercial and government

organizations.

With the new integration, mobile workers

will no longer need to manage multiple

passwords and separate log-ins. Instead,

users can have a more simplified sign-on

and a streamlined user experience. The

integration transforms the mobile device

into a universal mobile credential, creating

a single sign-on process that replaces

multiple smart cards, one-time passcodes,

PINs and passwords. This can all be done

by leveraging enterprises’ existing and

underlying architectures—including poli-

cies put into place by IT departments, as

well as credentials that workers already

use to access their PC desktop environ-

ment. This simplifies the process and

minimizes operational costs, ultimately

protecting investments.

For more information, please visit

www.datacard.com.

member & product news

First Data Provides Help for Veteran Business Owners

Nearly three million service members have

been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan

since 2001, and a significant number

of those returning home, and members

of their family, have put their skills to

work starting and running a business. To

help those businesses thrive and grow,

First Data Corporation announced a

unique offer that provides small business

technology at no cost to any veteran or

military spouse-owned business.

First Data wants to help veterans grow

their business independence by providing

these business owners with their choice

of free point-of-sale business management

solutions, including the innovative Clover™

Mini, which First Data launched recently.

This special offer will empower veteran

and military family entrepreneurs to

operate and grow their businesses more

effectively. Running a business is more

than a full-time job. The Clover family

of products enables business owners to

accept all forms of payments, manage

inventory, keep time sheets, and perform

just about any function needed to run

their business in a safe, secure environ-

ment. Clover meets the demands of a

rapidly changing commerce marketplace,

enabling merchants to accept most pay-

ment types, including swipe, PIN Debit,

EMV (chip + PIN; chip + signature) and

NFC transactions.

For more information, please visit

www.firstdata.com.

Fiserv Enhances Chip Card Production to Support EMV Migration

Fiserv, Inc., announced that it has ex-

panded its card production capabilities to

include milling and embedding, enabling

the company to complete the entire

EMV™ chip card production process in

house and streamline the migration to

EMV chip cards for clients. With state-

of-the-art milling and embedding tech-

nology, Fiserv adds to its extensive EMV

capabilities, including card personaliza-

tion, transaction processing, real-time

payments and funds access through the

Accel® debit payments network, risk

management, staff and consumer educa-

tion support, and strategic guidance.

By bringing the milling and embedding

process in house, Fiserv clients will

benefit from a faster and more respon-

sive solution for procuring chip cards

that are fully certified by Visa®, Master-

Card®, Discover® and American Express®.

Direct alignment between the card

manufacturing and card personalization

solutions will lead to a smoother EMV

implementation process for Fiserv

clients. With the experience that comes

from relationships with thousands of

financial institutions, Fiserv is prepared

to support the migration from magnetic

stripe to chip cards. Fiserv delivers

a cost-effective, comprehensive and

integrated EMV solution through a team

of experts who understand the payments

landscape and technology transforma-

tions. Fiserv can support clients through

every step of the migration process,

starting with an in-depth discovery

session, including investments required,

followed by decisions regarding the chip

card, the processes to obtain EMV

certification from associations, and

how to educate staff and customers.

For more information, please visit

www.fiserv.com.

6 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

member & product news

G&D Focuses on Ticketing for Urban Mobility

The Giesecke & Devrient (G&D) focus

at the 2015 biennial world congress and

exhibition of the International Association

of Public Transport (UITP) was on ticket-

ing for urban mobility. The German

technology company showcased secure

ticketing solutions for the growing need

for mobility, among them contactless

cards, tickets, services, and new solutions

such as secure Ultra-High-Frequency

(UHF) and mobile ticketing solutions.

As one of the founding members of the

Open Standard Public Transport Alliance

(OSPT), G&D is presenting the new

product family of the CIPURSE Security

Solutions at the UITP 2015. “CIPURSE is

an open standard highly flexible transport

and ticketing application on a single card

or mobile device. The new comprehensive

product family concept features tailor-

made CIPURSE products for different

applications such as authentication or

closed-loop payment functions, access to

events, loyalty programs, and couponing.

G&D recently introduced the first com-

mercially available NFC SIM card compli-

ant with the open CIPURSE standard, and

expects to receive CIPURSE certification

from Keolabs for its contactless ID-1

CIPURSE card soon,” explained Andreas

Johne, OSPT board member.

For more information, please visit

www.gi-de.com.

HID North American Operations Center Achieves ISO 14001:2004 Certification

HID Global® recently announced that

its worldwide headquarters and North

American Operations Center located in

Austin, Texas, achieved certification to

the ISO 14001:2004 Environmental

Management Standard. The certificate

continued on page 8

7w w w . i c m a . c o m

was issued by SGS, an accredited third-

party organization, after completing an

audit verifying that the Austin facility’s

environmental management system

conforms to the standard’s requirements.

The ISO 14001 standard provides the

criteria, framework and tools for certify-

ing systems that enable organizations to

identify and control their environmental

impact. Achieving certification demon-

strates to an organization’s customers,

employees, and stakeholders that their

building’s environmental impact is being

measured and improved. Certification ele-

ments include compliance with environ-

mental legislation, pollution prevention,

minimizing energy and resource usage,

and exceeding customers’ environmental

expectations for environmental

performance.

For more information, please visit

www.hidglobal.com.

Information Packaging ArmorShield® Growth Continues

Information Packaging Corporation

(IPC) continues to experience growth of

their ArmorShield®, RFID blocking, card

sleeve line. They are a manufacturer of

sleeves and envelopes designed to shield

unauthorized access to information stored

on a variety of contactless card applica-

tions; including the U.S. Passport Card,

U.S. Green Card, Enhanced Drivers

Licenses (EDL), Department of Defense ID

cards, and numerous credit/bank cards.

With the October, 2015 EMV deadline ap-

proaching, more bank cards will contain

the contactless chip and be vulnerable

to skimming and fraud. ArmorShield®

Sleeves provide an additional level of

protection at the consumer level to pre-

vent unauthorized access to information

on those cards.

Information Packaging has recently

enhanced its ArmorShield® material,

furthering its superiority in RFID blocking

envelope products. The new material,

FIPS 201, is approved as an electromag-

netically opaque shield. Changes in the

bonding process between the Tyvek® and

RFID blocking alloy provide many ben-

efits. All ArmorShield® sleeves are FIPS

201-approved as an electromagnetically

opaque shield and provide shielding for

ISO 14443/15693 and EPC Gen 1/Gen 2

contactless smart cards and any contact-

less card that operates at 13.56 MHz and

above.

For more information, please visit

www.infopkg.com.

MasterCard’s Identity Theft Resolution Services Offer Peace of Mind

Your wallet and your personal informa-

tion belong to you and you only, so it’s

no wonder that identity theft is unnerv-

ing. MasterCard knows that a balanced

offense and defense are key to control-

ling any game, and maintaining control

over your identity is no exception. From

cardholder protection updates in the

U.S. to the move to chip card technology

and tokenization, MasterCard is working

24/7 to prevent and detect fraud.

MasterCard provides identity theft resolu-

tion services to cardholders with access

to resources that will help restore their

identities, and Identity Theft Alerts is a

free service only offered by MasterCard

to detect if your personal information

(such as your credit or debit card, social

security number or driver’s license) is

being bought or sold online. Additionally,

an Identity Theft Specialist can be as-

signed to work with cardholders to help

check for any potential identity theft and

offer expert guidance to help keep online

information safe. The digital world we

live in mandates that we take responsi-

bility for our personal information, and

MasterCard’s Identity Theft Resolution

services are a free and simple way to

ensure your wallets—digital or physical—

do not fall into the wrong hands.

For more information, please visit

www.mastercard.com.

Oasys Extends its Portfolio

Oasys is pleased to announce that they

have extended their range of secure

plastic card and e-ID document produc-

tion equipment. Oasys now provides a

unique collation solution to cater to the

high levels of sophistication that are re-

quired to produce high quality e-ID cards

and passport data pages. Such products

can typically contain 8-12 layers which

need to be accurately aligned to each

other. The OSP 100 and OCP 700 units

provide the flexibility of operation for

a wide range of sheet substrate thick-

nesses and sizes, but yet maintain an

ease of operation and a 100 percent yield

rate. As an extension to collation, Oasys

8 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

member & product news

now provides precision guillotine equip-

ment that can be configured to precisely

guillotine all four edges of a typical 2-UP

e-passport product presentation from the

larger laminated set. Oasys is helping its

current clients operating in this sector to

improve machinery uptime and efficiency

and looks forward to assisting other or-

ganisations achieve similar results.

For more information, please visit

www.oasys.uk.com.

Schreiner Group’s New Security Production Facilities Obtain MasterCard® GVCP Certification

Schreiner PrinTrust has moved its

production facilities from Waldvoegelein-

strasse in Munich to headquarters in

Oberschleissheim. The new location

has obtained the GVCP certification of

MasterCard®. The certification according

to MasterCard®’s Global Vendor Certi-

fication Program (GVCP) confirms that

following the successful move of produc-

tion into the new, ultra-modern security

building at Bruckmannring, Schreiner

Group still continues to provide the

necessary security infrastructure to

comply with the required security stan-

dards throughout the entire production

process of security products.

For more information, please visit

www.schreiner-printrust.com.

TAG Systems Enters into Mobile Payment by Acquiring Part of Seglan’s Capital and Starts HCE Setup in its Service Bureaus

TAG Systems has entered into the

capital of Seglan, a Spanish IT company

developing software and solutions for

payment and ticketing. International

card payment schemes forecast that

mobile transactions will exceed card-

based transactions by year 2020. As

a result of this operation TAG Systems

will offer mobile solutions based on HCE

and tokenization to financial institutions,

transport operators or merchants. Both

companies believe in the expansion

of new payment channels that require

secure environments for transactions,

Seglan’s solutions provide the secure-

ness and convenience needed in those

emerging channels.

For more information, please visit

www.tagsystems.ad.

TSYS Signs NCB Jamaica to PRIME 4 Agreement

TSYS announced that National Com-

mercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB),

Jamaica’s largest financial services

provider, has upgraded to the latest ver-

sion of TSYS’ card issuing and merchant

management solution—PRIME 4. A TSYS

client since 1998, NCB Jamaica deploys

the PRIME solution to manage its grow-

ing card portfolios. Drawing on PRIME’s

flexibility, ease of use, and backed by its

renowned speed-to-market capabilities,

NCB Jamaica has introduced a number

of successful card product offerings—

including, credit, debit, prepaid and

private label card programmes—on a

single PRIME implementation.

With PRIME 4, NCB Jamaica will leverage

enhanced integrated workflow-driven dis-

pute and chargeback handling, real-time

fraud monitoring, collections, installment

and advanced behavioural analytics

capabilities. In addition, the bank plans

to extend its market offering to include

issuing and acquiring support for EMV

and contactless cards, MasterCard MCHIP

and Paypass, Visa VSDC and PayWave,

along with extended acquiring support for

AMEX and UnionPay International pay-

ment schemes. PRIME 4 provides support

for multi-payment schemes, multi-product

issuing and multi-channel acquiring as

a single-platform payments processing

solution.

For more information, please visit

www.tsys.com.

Visa to Launch Virtual Bank Accounts

Canada’s northernmost reaches are

beautiful, and isolated. So isolated, in fact

that everyday banking can be a bit of

challenge, given extreme weather condi-

tions, among other obstacles.

And, reported by The Wall Street Journal,

as many as three percent of all Canadians

are not able to access a bank account

on a regular basis. That opens the door

for Visa Inc., which, as WSJ notes, is

linking up with retailer North West Co.

Inc. to launch a “virtual” bank experi-

ence via direct deposit. The service will

target Canadian communities that offer

no physical bank branches and are so

remote that even mobile or online

banking proves difficult.

For more information, please visit

www.visa.com.

association news

For 25 years ICMA has continued to be at the forefront of the card manufacturing and personalization

industry. Throughout its 25 years, ICMA has united the industry and created an avenue for manufacturers

and suppliers to network and share new and innovative ideas. ICMA’s 2015 EuroForum and North American

Workshop are day and a half, regionally-focused events that offer manufacturers, personalizers, suppliers and

issuers a unique opportunity for education, networking and exchanging ideas among industry peers. Each event is geared to techni-

cal and card production staff as well as executives and business owners and focus on actual production issues, trends and topics.

Get Your Table Top Display Today – Space is Limited Among the highlights of the Workshop and the EuroForum are table top displays, where suppliers display their product literature,

samples and other information. These table top displays provide supplier members with more opportunities to be in front of card

manufacturer members, allowing the production/operations personnel who typically attend the events to meet their suppliers.

If you are interested in securing a table top display, please contact Diane Webster-Sweeney at dwebster@icma.com.

Space is limited. Join the following table top exhibitors to date:

Product Showcase ICMA’s unique Product Showcase offers exhibitors a chance to conduct a 3-5 minute presentation that takes place prior to each

speaker in our Product Showcase. The Showcase is designed to provide more opportunities to learn about exhibiting companies and

their services.

Registration Now Open! www.icma.com

2016 ICMA EXPO Co-located with the Smart Card Alliance Payments Summit April 4-7, 2016

Loews Royal Pacific ResortOrlando, Florida, USA

ICMA has joined with the Smart Card Alliance (SCA) for a co-located event in 2016. The event offers ICMA members maximum

exposure to advanced technologies and payments service providers, while still offering tracks that will meet the needs of all

ICMA members, from secure to non-secure and magnetic stripe to chip and personalizers too.

Secure Your Exhibit Contract Today—Space is Filling UpSpace is selected on a first come, first served basis in the order in which contracts are received. We expect to sell out so be sure to

reserve early! Contact Diane Webster-Sweeney at dwebster@icma.com for more information or to secure a contract.

Members: $3,825 USD Non-members: $4,425 USD

Join the following exhibitors:tele-marines, trade gothic lh extended bold

Card & RFID Automation

9w w w . i c m a . c o m

Join ICMA for Our 2015 EuroForumand North American Workshop

10 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN 2015 EuroForum

October 8-9, 2015

Hilton Munich City, Munich, Germany

The EuroForum offers the chance to exchange ideas and learn from leading experts about regional strategies and solutions, as well as

specific industry opportunities and trends. Attendees have the ability to engage in abundant networking and educational sessions that

will supply you with the best tools to overcome obstacles and challenges while increasing your bottom line and return on investment.

association news

The 2015 EuroForum, chaired by Brian Summerhayes of Barnes

International and Thies Janczek of COCASO, along with planning

committee member Thomas Tarantino of Giesecke & Devrient,

will present a leading-edge agenda that offers attendees

meaningful strategies and tactics that they can take back to

their organizations. We look forward to seeing you at this

year’s EuroForum.

CONFIRMED AGENDA TOPICS INCLUDE:• Global and European Card Market Trends and Forecasts –

The Next 5 Years, Al Vrancart, ICMA Founder Emeritus and

Industry Advisor

• Best Hiring Practices, Keith Yeates, Bristol ID Technologies

• Strategies for Card and Equipment Manufacturers for a

Successful Future, Eva Sophie Wiesmüller, Power2Progress

• Adding Security Features without Additional Production Steps,

Christoph Zozgornik-Husmann, VTT

• Digital Printing and More, KBA-MePrint AG

• Packaging Trends for Smartcard and eID Documents,

Peter Stampka, Infineon Technologies AG

• Dual Interface Technologies, SMARTRAC Technology Group

• Card Durability Considerations for a 5 Year Card Life, David

Tushie, Magellan Consulting, Inc., ICMA Standards and Technical

Representative

REGISTRATION INFORMATIONEarly Registration (by 10 September) $495 USD

General Registration (after 10 September) $550 USD

Admittance will not be allowed unless payment is received. No

refunds will be given for cancellations received within 21 days of

the event. To register, visit the ICMA website at www.icma.com.

The EuroForum will include a networking dinner for all attendees

that is included in the registration fee. This is a great chance to

network with other attendees in a relaxed, social environment.

HOTEL INFORMATIONSleeping rooms have been blocked for ICMA’s attendees at

discounted group rates. Be sure to contact the hotel before the

deadlines stated below to ensure that you receive the group rate.

*PLEASE NOTE* There is a city-wide event happening that week so you MUST book your room by 16 September or you may not get a room at this hotel.

Hilton Munich City

Rosenheimer Strasse 15

81667, Munich

Germany

Rate: €169.00 (exclusive of breakfast)

To reserve, visit the ICMA website at www.icma.com or call

49 (0) 89 3845 2525. NOTE: The hotel room block is from

7-8 October. If you need a longer stay, please contact the hotel

and let them know you are with the ICMA group and mention

the code “ICMA.”

11w w w . i c m a . c o m

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN REGISTRATION NOW OPEN North American Workshop

October 20-21, 2015

Renaissance Chicago O’Hare

The North American Workshop offers the ability to discuss the most important challenges, opportunities and trends facing the North

American card industry today. ICMA is excited to present a leading-edge agenda that will offer attendees meaningful strategies and

tactics they can take back to their organizations.

The 2015 North American Workshop, chaired by Guy Meeker of

Teraco, is designed for technical and card production staff, as well

as executives and business owners. This year’s agenda is filled

with dynamic speakers who are ready to share best practices and

new approaches to card manufacturing.

Attendees can expect a multi-dimensional meeting of the minds

at this day and a half Workshop that focuses on actual production

issues, trends and topics. You will also have the opportunity

to engage in abundant networking and educational sessions

that will supply you with the best tools to overcome obstacles

and challenges while increasing your bottom line and return

on investment. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s

Workshop.

CONFIRMED AGENDA TOPICS INCLUDE:• Global & North American Card Market Trends & Forecasts

– The Next 5 Years, Al Vrancart, ICMA Founder Emeritus and

Industry Advisor

• Best Hiring Practices, Keith Yeates, President, Bristol ID Technologies

• Back to Basics: How Chip Cards can Help Non-Secure

Manufacturers Stay Alive, Barry Mosteller, Vice President,

Research & Development, CPI Card Group

• Manufacturing to Fulfillment: A Look at the Entire Process,

Sue Hanson, Travel Tags

• Voice of the Customer, Tony McGee, Manager, Customer Care,

CPI Card Group

• What’s Involved in Becoming a Certified Secure Card

Manufacturer, Devesh Pandit, E4 Security Consulting, LLC

• Card Durability Considerations for a 5 Year Card Life, David

Tushie, Magellan Consulting, Inc., ICMA Standards and Technical

Representative

REGISTRATION INFORMATIONEarly Registration (by September 22) $495 USD

General Registration (after September 22) $550 USD

The North American Workshop is open to ICMA members only.

Admittance will not be allowed unless payment is received. No

refunds will be given for cancellations received within 21 days of

the event. To register, visit the ICMA website at www.icma.com.

The Workshop will include a networking dinner for all attendees

that is included in the registration fee. This is a great chance to

network with other attendees in a relaxed, social environment.

HOTEL INFORMATIONSleeping rooms have been blocked for ICMA’s attendees at

discounted group rates. Be sure to contact the hotel before the

deadline stated below to ensure that you receive the group rate.

Make sure you mention you are with ICMA when making the

reservation.

Renaissance Chicago O’Hare

8500 West Bryn Mawr Avenue

Chicago, Illinois 60631

USA

Room Rate: $169

To reserve, visit the ICMA website at www.icma.com or call

1-800-468-3571. The hotel reservation deadline is Friday,

October 2, 2015.

I am often asked the question

“how long will plastic cards be

around.” While this is a com-

plicated question my answer

is always for the near future.

Given that you all know my

answer to this question, I

became curious as to what

your answer would be. At

the 2015 ICMA EXPO this

past March I asked the audi-

ence of approximately 300

card industry stakeholders to

vote on whether they thought

the plastic card industry would

be around for more than 10 years,

only five to 10 years longer or less

than five years. The results were as

follows:

More than 10 Years: 49%

From 5 to 10 Years: 39%

Less than 5 Years: 12%

In reviewing these results I was delighted to see that half

of the attendees at the EXPO were of the same mindset as

myself, believing that plastic cards will be around for more

than ten years. During my recent “2014-2018 Global Card

Industry Market Statistics & 5 Year Forecast” presentation

at the EXPO, I expounded upon the reasons why the plastic

card will be around for many, many more years. One of

the most important points I made during that presentation

was that there is a costly global infrastructure and standards

in place for plastic cards that works extremely well. We,

the industry, continue to

invest in that infrastruc-

ture as well as in the

global conversion

to smart chip cards

and have spent the

last 50 years per-

fecting it! I also

see that while

there are several

potential disruptive

technologies that

are competing with

each other, there is no

clear winner. However, it

does appear that a new “tech

bubble” has been created.

Another reason for the longevity of plastic cards

is that smart chip cards have not yet saturated critical

geographic and vertical markets. Smart cards are the

preferred platform for launching most new transaction

and verification technologies and are the cornerstone for

the future of payments security. Smart cards also have a

default to magnetic technology that ensures a transaction

is captured. I also find that the adoption of new technology

is segmented by generational demographics, that consum-

ers resist change and that old habits are difficult to change.

We have been swiping and tapping plastic cards for many

years and consumers find it easy and convenient! When it

comes to the cost of new technologies as opposed to cards,

plastic cards are less expensive than any of the alternative

technologies. This cost savings continues to support the

12 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

feature story

HOW LONG WILL PLASTIC CARDS REALLY BE AROUND?

Al Vrancart – ICMA Founder Emeritus and Industry Advisor

39%

12%

49%

13w w w . i c m a . c o m

HOW LONG WILL PLASTIC CARDS REALLY BE AROUND?

plastic card and its lifespan. Plastic cards are also the entry or

recognition device to access or open a sophisticated secure

software system.

Additionally, a physical card and supportive packaging is

preferred by many consumers for gift giving as opposed to

an email, text message or on-line prepaid account which is

helping to increase the survival of the plastic card. Printed

plastic cards also better portray a brand or image. I also find

that “top of wallet” is more prevalent with plastic cards. When

it comes to mobile technology, most smartphone “apps” need

and desire a companion plastic card and in many cases plastic

cards can transact faster than a smartphone app. In looking at

generational differences, not everyone has a smartphone and

their monthly plans tend to be expensive. Smartphones, which

initially require a plastic mobile SIM card to become operational,

are battery operated and can be stolen, lost, lose power

or break and consequently they need a default companion

plastic card.

Lastly, what is important to remember is that “CASH is KING”

with 46 percent to 82 percent of payment transactions still

done in cash depending on the country. Plastic cards and new

technologies will co-exist for the foreseeable future. Plastic

cards have a long good-bye ahead of them!

About the Author: Al Vrancart is Founder Emeritus and Industry Advisor of ICMA. With more than 30 years of business experience, Vrancart initially co-founded ICMA in 1990. Previously serving as president/CEO of NBS and Qualteq, his guidance and counsel has helped ICMA and other industry associations and stakeholders implement growth initiatives effectively and successfully. Al is a frequent presenter/speaker at card manufacturing industry events. He is particularly focused on Global and Regional Industry market statistics, forecasts and metrics.

cover story

14 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

Rob Haslam, HID Global and Babatope M. Agbeyo, Botosoft Technologies Limited

continued on page 16

15w w w . i c m a . c o m

WAEC: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

To provide some background, WAEC is West Africa’s

foremost examining body. It was established by law in

1952 and today, is comprised of five member countries—

Nigeria, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Liberia.

Services provided by WAEC include:

• Conducting public examinations for primary

and junior/senior secondary school levels

• Conducting aptitude tests for institutions and

corporate bodies

• Issuing results and certificates of completion/

passing on the examinations administered

Each year WAEC registers more than 2.2 million students

for annual exams conducted in more than 15,000

participating examination centers across Nigeria. With

an admirable mission and high standards, WAEC soon

realized maintaining the integrity of the organization was

going to require more than basic security procedures to

identify, authenticate and monitor students during the

examinations process, while at the same time providing

a professional and comfortable testing environment.

The historical method for exam registration and autho-

rizing was manual, time consuming, and susceptible to

fraud. Students registered online and were provided a pa-

per receipt that was later manually validated at the time

of testing without a secure process to confirm the identity

of the student. For this reason tracking and recording

cases of identity fraud was difficult and suspect. While

WAEC knew it needed to do something to remedy the

situation, with so many exam

centers spread throughout the

country, WAEC also had to find

a partner who could build a

secure and reliable solution

within strict budget parameters.

To facilitate improvements in the annual examinations

process, WAEC commissioned a local technology leader

who partnered with a global secure ID solutions provider

to develop and deploy a secure card issuance and mobile

ID system which allowed WAEC to not only meet, but

exceed its security needs within budget. “The implemen-

tation of this real-time identification and monitoring

system helps bring to life our vision of being a world-class

examinations body,” said Mr. Charles Eguridu, WAEC

Head of National Office Lagos. “With our new electronic

student ID card program we are able to address the high

volume issuance requirements of WAEC in a very aggres-

sive timeframe as well as our overall need to improve

the efficiency and accuracy of the annual exams.”

WAEC’S NEW MOBILE STUDENT ID CARD

On-line registration for an identity card that is read

using a mobile device at each examination site, was

decided to be the most practical solution. These cards

would only be valid for the examinations being held in a

particular semester and expire immediately on comple-

tion of the final paper. Without a valid card, students

would not be allowed to take their exams.

With security, flexibility and quality at the forefront,

WAEC required a secure issuance system that could print

upwards of 1.8 million cards for the spring term and

another 400,000 cards during the autumn term. Further,

the cards needed to be checked and authenticated at the

examinations sites by local officials.

The partners worked together to deliver a customized

solution to accept the raw data from WAEC’s online en-

rollment process; validate the

information and prepare it for

use in personalizing the cards

in a local facility. Additionally,

the team assisted with the

design and development of

In recent years the card manufacturing industry has not only become increasingly innovative

in solving complicated secure ID challenges but it has taken on a whole new position of

cooperation between card manufacturing leaders at the local and global levels. As a result we

are seeing a new category of secure ID solutions hit the market. One such example is found in

the West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) mobile student ID system.

16 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

the application software used in the mobile readers. Once issued,

a specialized data management system ensures effective admin-

istration of the “exam day” process as well as providing reliable

access to data and post examination reports.

STUDENTS ON EXAM DAY

WAEC’s vision to be a world-class examinations body and gain

international recognition now inspires and challenges more

than 2.2 million Nigerian students every year. Students now

register online. The information is used to personalize and issue

a machine-readable smart card to each student. This same

information is stored in a central database that can be accessed

in real-time by the new mobile readers at the time of the exam.

Today, more than 16,000 mobile readers have been distributed

to over 15,000 exam centers throughout Nigeria allowing

supervisors to identify and authenticate students at the time

of the exam by accessing student information from the smart

card and validating it against the central database in real-time.

Similarly, information about the testing process including, date,

time and the name of the testing center, is added to the student’s

online records.

Historically, examinations malpractice has been a major problem

facing the Nigerian education system and Nigerian society at

large. As a result, examination bodies are not able to accurately

certify the quality of education for students. While examinations

malpractice comes in a variety of forms, identity fraud is the most

prominent. The WAEC student ID card incorporates multiple tech-

nologies to facilitate the greatest security and protection against

ID fraud possible. Beyond visual identification–the candidate

whose name and photograph appear on the card must take the

card to the appropriate exam center and present it to the Exami-

nations Official upon request–multiple embedded technologies

not visible to the naked eye have been incorporated. Specific

features unique to the WAEC student ID card include:

• An integrated contactless chip

• A UV blue WAEC logo

• Guilloche graphics

• Micro-text

• Warped patterns with faded edges

• Text relief, two-color over print

• Faded photo box edges overlapping with personalized photos

To facilitate the rapid personalization and issuance of secure

identification cards, a turnkey software and hardware solution

was deployed in under four months with a capacity of more

than 90,000 cards per day. The global partner provides hands-on

training and support to the local production team.

A custom data management system provided by the local part-

ner is used to address and record exam day activities―capturing

and recording events/occurrences as they happen, with the

ability to report them in a timely manner. The system verifies

the identity of students when cards are scanned with the mobile

reader as well as recording attendance, and any related exami-

nations malpractice by the student. As a result, WAEC receives

access to very reliable data including post-examinations reports.

Information is recorded and stored on the mobile readers and

interminably sent to a secure database providing WAEC with se-

cure, reliable access to examinations reports whenever needed.

Successful Partnerships Driving Innovation

Innovations in mobile ID technologies are beginning to emerge,

allowing secure identification and authentication as well as

instant access to critical information. Students are now issued

a secure, RFID credential that is registered in a central WAEC

database. Supervisors at the examinations sites can authenticate

students in real-time via a handheld reader that can access the

central database. The results are:

• Reduced exam fraud

• Less paperwork

• Increased value of the diploma

In addition, with the advancements made by the team that de-

veloped and deployed WAEC’s new mobile student ID system—

the next generation mobile reader could be a smart phone. Using

smart phones as readers will significantly reduce infrastructure

costs. We envision more industry partnerships emerging over

the next several years as countries such as Nigeria and organiza-

tions like WAEC strive to bring the highest levels of security and

integrity to their citizens.

About the Authors: Rob Haslam, vice president of government ID solutions, HID Global – Rob Haslam is the vice president, government ID solutions with HID Global. Haslam has over 20 years of worldwide experience in the government identity field including, managing the international business development team at L-1 Identity Solutions (acquired by Safran/Morpho in 2011). Babatope M. Agbeyo, chairman, Botosoft Technologies Limited – Tope M. Agbeyo formed Media Concept International Limited in 2005. The company delivered tailored and strategic enterprise solu-tions to major examination bodies in the West African region serving a combined total of over 3.5 million service users every year. Tope formed Cornfield Transnational Limited in 2006 which developed a complete enterprise solution for a National Police Force positioned to cater of over 150 million users.

Leaders Partner to Deliver, continued from page 15

cover story

18 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

NON-SECURE TO SECURE, WHERE TO BEGIN?

As a security consultant, I have been approached by busi-

nesses asking questions about going from non-secure

to secure, and where it is they begin. One is never too

late for security and security is never enough. The security

controls are complex and are specific to maintain the

CIA triad—confidentiality, integrity and availability.

Now let us talk about those who are still on the sideline

and contemplating whether to become certified for the PCI

brand or not.

You have to decide what services you are going to provide

as a PCI vendor. To be precise, do you want to personalize,

fulfill or distribute? Or do you simply want to upgrade

your facility to a secure facility as you are already serving

loyalty/membership, closed loop/proprietary gift and credit

cards? Either way you have to be secure and prepared, as

most customers are demanding higher security levels. If

you observe closely, the most control sought by PCI DSS,

HIPAA or SSAE 16 are not too far from PCI card production.

You may continue to conduct business as usual, however

security will eventually become an issue. You will then most

likely scramble as you may be forced to fortify your pro-

duction facility and implement a security program to fulfill

requirements based on your customers’ demands.

The big question is where and when to begin. The answer is

very simple, here and now. Create a baseline and begin se-

curing your plant right NOW. How do you create a baseline?

Make a list of things and start the process by conducting a

thorough walk-through to inventory the issues. Begin reme-

diation by plucking low hanging fruits. You will be amazed

how much you can accomplish if you begin to move towards

a secure facility. You may also realize that you do not have

to build everything at once. You will need a facility blueprint

(if you do not have one, get it done). Identify what you have

and what you don’t. Begin with a joint meeting among

your stakeholders, select individuals who are able to make

decisions, and then decide what requires making changes

to existing to policies, procedures, and workflow. Consider

taking a holistic approach; combine the review of physical

and logical security, as they go hand-in-hand. A concept

known as defense-in-depth, following a cyclical plan/do/

act/check, must be implemented as an ongoing review

process.

The core production area where secure products are

manufactured, stored, processed, fulfilled and personalized

is considered the most secure area that requires all entries

and exits monitored. Access control is gradually hardened

as you enter towards the core, such as the vault and secure

server room of the plant. All access to the facility must be

controlled through the reception area and/or the security

control room respectively for visitors and/or employees.

Any blind spot in a plant is a taboo and invites security (and

safety) threats. Rooms that have a door may require dual

occupancy and additional security features. These are one

of your low hanging fruits and do not require much effort

to fix. If you have not yet begun to remove restrooms and

lockers out of the perceived secure area, then that is also on

your immediate list of things to do.

All compliances, especially PCI card production, require

strict audit trails of cards and components, which is also

easy to implement. The worthiness of controls depends on

high fidelity. This trust begins with a hiring process that you

can implement right away with existing employees. Shipping

and receiving also requires a facelift to accommodate goods

and secure movement of the vehicles under dual control.

This can be planned and progressively remediated moving

towards your goal of becoming a secure plant.

Now let us review the logical side of the secure plant. First

you must identify where the data and voice networks are

terminated. Ask your information technology team to draw

a physical and logical network layout and find out how your

data center connects to the main distribution facility (MDF)

and intermediate distribution facilities (IDF). These are

feature story

Devesh Pandit – President and CEO, E4 Security Consulting, LLC

19w w w . i c m a . c o m

typically closets that are not secure, where you will receive, store and process the

secure data. Understand the encryption requirements and data storage on your

premises. All data is classified and secure data must be identified and secured at

all times. This requires a strict, role-based, need-to-know, individualized access

control be in place. All access to the data requires approval from management;

anything less would lead to a compromise. A genuine change in management

process must be in place, requiring true authority and rigor; anything less would

quickly lead towards an uncontrolled and non-secure environment.

The placement of routers and a firewall is very critical and requires careful

consideration of the secure defense, following industry best practices. No matter

how many routers and firewalls you have, make sure that the secure side of the

network never sees the Internet. A well-designed vulnerability scan and penetra-

tion test is a must any time there is a change in people, process or placement of

networking equipment. Design your demilitarized zone (DMZ), making sure that

it is protected and has no security holes. Wireless networks are lurking every-

where, so make sure you are protected from hackers. Never underestimate the

reputational impact caused by a security breach.

A formal risk assessment of physical and logical controls is the core of secure

card processing. Before you move on it begin the practice, gather results, conduct

a gap analysis and begin to implement PCI requirements. Business continuity and

disaster recovery planning is yet another weak area observed in the card produc-

tion industry. There are several options in doing this. A mutual recovery among

certified locations can be sought among the PCI brand certified companies or if

you have a certified branch, you will have a better control over the situation.

Proper training is equally important. Security (and safety) is everyone’s business

and properly trained personnel are not only an investment but are an asset in the

first step towards loss-control and theft prevention. Security training in PCI can

be implemented immediately while you are working on the facility. Security train-

ing and awareness is half the battle. Trained personnel who are aware of security

requirements, and understanding why a control is being implemented, instills

confidence and makes security implementation and brand certification easy.

So, if you are on the non-secure side, sooner or later you will end up implementing

security that is at par with PCI card production requirements. Begin now so that

you become ready to certify for PCI brands. By doing so you will also be ready for

HIPAA, SSAE 16 or GSMA SAS compliance. I want to leave you with a thought

that recovering from any security incident is costly and damages your reputation,

while being compliant is cost effective and cheap. Making a decision towards

becoming compliant is a sign of the times and by doing so you will open doors to

many other opportunities which were not available to you in the past. Remember,

payments and security are synonymous. Your security posture reflects your

commitment and moral obligation towards your business partners. By improving

your security you improve your brand’s security.

About the Author: Devesh Pandit is a security professional with more than 20 years of experience in compliance, security and business continuity advising the se-cure card industry, he has provided business continuity services to China UnionPay, successfully installed and maintained a secure facility for VALID USA and is president and CEO of E4 Security Consulting, LLC.

The problem of providing accurate personal identification,

and the use of that identification to enable access to secure

documents, facilities and services, was known before the

World Trade Center tragedy (9/11). However, that event has

provided an accelerator for a large computer-based develop-

ment effort of identity credentials.

From a global perspective, governments need to know who

you are, what you are entitled to have or do, and to allow

you and only you to have and to do it. This access must

be provided or denied without releasing more personal

information than is necessary.

The U.S. Federal government, recognizing the need for

secure access to federal facilities and IT systems, published

the “Personal Identify Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees

and Contractors,” in 2005. Following this initiative the U.S.

Federal Chief Information Officers Council (CIO) produced

the “Personal Identity Verification Interoperability for

Non-Federal Issuers” document that specified the PIV In-

teroperable (PIV-I) and the PIV Compatible (PIV-C) cards.

The same identity requirements were required for Internet

transactions that were being secured by a username and

password. This identity solution had proved inadequate and

in April 2011, President Barack Obama announced the

National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC)

program. The envisioned solution would embrace four

guiding principles:

• Privacy enhancing and voluntary

• Secure and resilient

• Interoperable

• Cost-effective and easy to use

To enable an identity credential to securely provide authenti-

cated access to multiple applications, NSTIC established the

Federal Cloud Credential Exchange to enable private sector

organizations to connect securely to government agencies,

a primary NSTIC objective. A number of pilot programs are

underway to validate portions of the ecosystem required to

provide the Trusted Identity and to do it in a way that pro-

vides sufficient privacy to the users of the system, all without

user ID and password protocols commonly used today.

A third major identity initiative is the REAL ID Act of 2005.

This law of the land (U.S.) recognized the de facto role the

drivers license plays as the main identity credential for al-

most all applications, public and private. While some states

took legislative action to deter its acceptance, all states

agreed that a more secure driver’s license was in everyone’s

best interest. One of the major accomplishments of the

Act was to improve the quality of the documents the driver

needed to supply to qualify for a license. The integrity of the

licenses has also been enhanced and American Association

of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) has played

a major role in achieving this improvement through its

generation and publication of its Card Design Standard.

From a global perspective, the International Standards

Organization (ISO) community has undertaken the develop-

ment of an ISO compliant driver license that would have

worldwide application. The ISO/IEC SC 17, Working

Group 10, (Motor vehicle driver license and related

documents), is responsible for the development of this

International Standards. The process starts with a proposal

for a new standard made during one of the three Working

Group (WG) 10 meetings held every year. Those members

most concerned with the issue at hand, at the next WG

10 meeting, will present a Working Draft (WD) of the new

standard. Comments are made and after revision and ap-

proval, the document proceeds to the Committee Draft (CD)

stage where required additional improvements are made.

A similar process is followed to take the document to

the Draft International Standard (DIS) level and then to the

Final Draft International Standard (FDIS) stage. Approval

of this FDIS document generates the International Standard

(IS) for publication. While this process takes time, the time

enables the Standard to support universal interoperability

and backwards compatibility that are difficult to achieve but

PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION AND SECURE ACCESS CONTROL

David Tushie – Magellan Consulting, Inc., ICMA Standards and Technical Representative

industry standards

20 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

critical for the long-term success of the hardware, software

and systems built in conformance to the Standard.

The present document under discussion at WG 10 is: ISO/

IEC CD 18013-1.3—Information Technology—Personal Iden-

tification—ISO Compliant Driving License—Part 1: Physical

Characteristics and Basic Data Set. From a global perspective,

this is the major control document. That does not mean that

all countries will incorporate all of the requirements of

this Standard because some uniqueness is required to

handle local customs. Once published, this Standard will be

sufficiently agreed to so that it can be accepted as a valid

identity credential at all borders. It is expected that, in the

U.S., AAMVA will migrate its Card Design Standard to this

ISO document through the efforts of the ANSI/INCITS B10.8

Drivers License/ ID Card Standards committee.

Several major business initiatives ongoing in the personal

identity and secure access control space have been identi-

fied, but these are all in the early stages. Just consider the

effort underway to develop, test and promote the very large

number of biometric solutions being proposed to improve

personal identification. Each biometric solution involves a

reader to capture the biometric and another reader to verify

the biometric at the point of service. All verification solutions

require that a database of legitimate data elements be

available for comparison to the identity being presented.

Agreement will be difficult to achieve but necessary for the

broad acceptance of the selected biometric technology (s).

The number of ID system solutions also continues to grow

especially when considering the logical requirement to

support federated identities where a credential will be

accepted by many secure applications.

Finally, the number of applications requiring identity

credentials continues to grow at a rapid pace with no end

in sight. And then there is the enforcement of the security

and privacy of these systems.

These new digital, ID credentials and systems are a major

growth opportunity for the card industry.

21w w w . i c m a . c o m

Renato X. Aldaz,

CPI Card Group

Rachel Bridge,

CPI Card Group

Linda Cantrell,

CPI Card Group

Mauricio Colmenares,

CPI Card Group

Nate Davis,

CPI Card Group

Teddy Dinker,

CPI Card Group

John Dwyer,

CPI Card Group

Chris Green,

CPI Card Group

Kristi Lawton,

CPI Card Group

Dan Molis,

CPI Card Group

Darren Reeves,

CPI Card Group

Russ Van Dyke,

CPI Card Group

Bob Welling,

CPI Card Group

Not pictured:

Peggy O’Leary,

CPI Card Group

ace news

ICMA is excited to announce that 14 individuals from CPI Card

Group and EFT Source, a CPI Card Group company, recently

passed the ACE-M exam. This past June the company, located

in Fort Wayne, Indiana, had individuals from their organization

participate in a group training and take the exam at their corpo-

rate offices. Through hard work and dedication, the individuals

listed below successfully passed the ICMA ACE exam, which has

become a global marker for card manufacturing and personal-

ization education. Congratulations to our new ACEs!

Join the growing number of ACE-certified professionals. ICMA

has certified 211 individuals, including 154 ACE-M and 57 ACE-P

designees to date.

Are You Ready to ACE the Exam?

ICMA’s ACE-M and ACE-P certifications are the only industry-

wide and global certifications that recognize advanced knowledge

in the field of card manufacturing and personalization and

fulfillment. The ACE designation validates your expertise and

distinguishes you as an industry expert, while showcasing your

knowledge of these processes to your company and client base.

Join your 211 fellow card industry professionals who have

become ACE-accredited today.

ICMA ACE enrollees are 95 percent more likely to pass the ACE

exam if they have taken ICMA Standards Representative David

Tushie’s interactive training session. David guides you through

ICMA Announces 14 New ACE Designees

22 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

ICMA EuroForum

ACE-M Training, Wednesday, October 7, 2015

ACE-P Training, Thursday, October 8, 2015

ACE-M and ACE-P Exam, Friday, October 9, 2015

ICMA North American Workshop

ACE-M Training, Monday, October 19, 2015

ACE-P Training, Wednesday, October 21, 2015

ACE-M Exam, Wednesday, October 21, 2015

ACE-P Exam, Thursday, October 22, 2015

23w w w . i c m a . c o m

your questions about the ACE exams and the manuals they are

based upon. As demand for experts in the card manufacturing

industry grows, continual training and expertise remain crucial

for individuals and companies to stay ahead of the competition.

Mark your calendars for our 2015 Regional Event ACE training

sessions and exams.

Looking to Have Your Employees ACE Certified: Schedule Your ACE Group Exam Today

ICMA’s ACE group exams are the perfect way to allow the

employees at your company to earn a high level of distinction

without having to spend extra money on travel and hotel costs.

Our Standards Representative, David Tushie, will travel to your

facility to run a private ACE-M or ACE-P training session for

you and your employees. David will also proctor the exam the

next day.

ACE accreditation validates expertise and distinguishes your

employees as motivated experts in the card manufacturing

industry. It also increases customer confidence in your company.

The more employees in your business that are ACE-accredited,

the more it helps your company to stand out from the rest!

Requirements to schedule an ACE group exam are:

• A minimum of 10 employees must register for the training

session and exam

• Two consecutive days must be agreed upon by your company

and ICMA headquarters

• Training and exam proctoring room must be provided by your

company to adequately accommodate your group.

Your company can join the growing number of companies such

as CPI Card Group, MPS Cards-Chicago (formerly Jet), First Data

and ABnote who have had great success in holding their group

ACE exams! Contact ICMA Headquarters at info@icma.com for

more information and group pricing.

A

Q

24 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

AQ

AQ

AQ

AQ

Since its inception in 2007, ICMA’s Advanced Card Education

(ACE) accreditation has been awarded to people with a broad

and detailed knowledge of the industry who successfully

complete a rigorous exam. ICMA continues its quest to learn

more about the growing number of ICMA members who

currently hold this prestigious accreditation and the impact it

has had on their professional development.

Adam Lowe, PhD, is senior materials development engineer

for CompoSecure, LLC, based in Somerset, NJ, U.S. Adam

became ACE-M accredited this past April at the 2015 ICMA

EXPO. CompoSecure is a design and manufacturing firm that

offers proprietary products and leading edge design capabili-

ties to address sophisticated, high-security requirements in

both the public and private sector. Adam recently discussed

how holding the ACE-M accreditation has helped him in

his career and also how the exams help to broaden your

expertise.

Q: What motivated you to sign up to take

the exam?

A: I decided to take to the ACE exam to help establish

myself in the industry and to push myself to close any of my

card manufacturing knowledge gaps. Many respected people

in the community hold an ACE certification which helped me

decide to take the exam.

Q: How do you feel the ACE accreditation has

helped you in your career?

A: ACE is widely recognized in our industry and it has

helped my career by establishing that I have a common

baseline of knowledge about card manufacturing.

Q: Why do you think those who are hesitant

to apply for the exam should move forward

with the process?

A: Pass or fail, I think the exam and the process of

studying for it is a valuable experience. Identifying your

ASK AN ACEQ&A with Adam Lowe, PhD, CompoSecure, LLC.

By Anna E. Lopez

ace news

AQ

knowledge gaps is one of the most beneficial parts of the

process and helps you grow. The optional review course

before the exam is very well done and I highly recommend it.

Q: How do you feel about the growth

prospects for our industry?

A: I’m positive about the outlook for our industry. As the

U.S. transitions to smartcards, I think volumes will remain

high. I’m hopeful that the U.S. will transition from chip and

signature to chip and PIN but the chance of that happening

is small. There are additional opportunities in ID and medical

cards that smart card manufacturers should pursue.

Q: What would you change in the card

industry?

A: I don’t see a lot of efforts regarding sustainability or

recycling. I would like to see companies pursue initiatives

that simultaneously help the environment and their profit

margin through energy efficiency and recycling.

Q: What new process technologies will

shape the card manufacturing industry of

the future?

A: I think additive technology, commonly used in 3D

printing, will help shape card manufacturing. While it may

not be used to make the card bodies, it will certainly affect

other technology components in the card such as the pay-

ment chip or new elements such as flexible displays. 3D

printing of circuits, especially using novel materials such

as graphene will help break through the current silicon/

transistor barrier.

25w w w . i c m a . c o m

Take the next step and enroll your employees today. By

providing a solid foundation of knowledge in the processes,

technologies and history of the industry you are helping to

create a well versed and well qualified workforce.

Set Your Company Apart from the Competition with

Educated Employees

ICMA’s CITE program offers a certificate for your employ-

ees to earn. While as a member, you can go through the

training module at no charge, ICMA’s CITE program offers

a certificate as well. The certificate offers the validation

and recognition of passing the exam following the CITE

program. You have the option to pay a $50.00 USD fee,

take the online exam and become a CITE certificate

holder if you receive a passing score of 70 percent or

higher. Utilize this tool as part of your organizations’

orientation process, employee continuing education

and more! Once you have earned the certificate,

your company and employees will be listed in ICMA

publications such as Card Manufacturing and ICMA’s

e-newsletter Card Flash.

To take the training, go to the ICMA Members Only

site. Once you are logged in you will see a link at the

top navigation labeled Training. Click that link and you

will be directed to the CITE information page.

For more information, please email info@icma.com or

call (609) 799-4900.

inCITE news

This Month’s CITE Spotlight: Joe Cisneros of CPI Card Group

ICMA is excited to recognize our latest CITE certificate recipient, Joe Cisneros of CPI Card Group. Joe

successfully studied and passed the CITE exam earning a certificate of completion. The certificate shows

he has demonstrated sufficient knowledge of the card industry’s history, technologies and more. Joe says,

“ICMA’s CITE program is definitely a good overview and a good foundation for future learning. I can see how

it will help to know some of this info when going more in-depth in the different steps of manufacturing

and personalization.”

This month’s CITE

excerpt: Section 5— The Basics of

Card ManufacturingFollow these 14-steps for a general idea of the card manufacturing

production process, noting that inspection and quality control does take place at all stages of the production process.

Card manufacturing specifications are defined by an internationally agreed upon set of rules commonly referred to as ISO Standards:

• ISO/IEC 7810 for card production • ISO/IEC 7811 for embossing and encoding • ISO/IEC 7816 for chip cards • ISO/IEC 10373 identification cards ― test methods

It should also be noted that secure card manufacture is held to very strict accountability at all stages of the process. All issued artworks/disks,

films, plates, printed sheets and finished cards, including all reject material, must be accounted for at all stages of production.

Production auditing is monitored by issuer/client inspectors on spot visits.

26 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

industry news

Netflix Goes Pay as You Watch with Prepaid Card in the UK

Netflix UK has just changed who can

binge watch—and how they’ll pay—with

the release of the prepaid Netflix card.

The card works in much the same way

an iTunes or Amazon gift card would.

With the Netflix Card, however, the

company has just introduced a new

pay-as-you-go option, allowing you to

continue sampling the service beyond

the free trial or enjoy your favorite films

and TV shows without the added hassle.

Similar to gift cards for Amazon, Google

Play or iTunes, Netflix’s card comes

in £15, £25 and £50 credit ($25, $40

and $80) which can be redeemed via a

unique code on the back. The cards can

be used against SD Netflix, HD Netflix

and Netflix 4D (super, ultra-mega high-

def). Interestingly, the card amounts

actually don’t match up all that well with

the cost per month of Netflix. It is almost

like they want to keep leaving you with

a little left over on the card so you go

get another one. Imagine that. This does

seem to be a new customer generation

tool, as the cards are not an option for

those who already have a monthly

subscription. The card is already on sale

at various U.K. retailers, with more ex-

pected to start in the next few months.

Technology Makes Customers More Loyal in Australia

Contactless payments, mobile banking

and e-commerce developments in

retail banking have made a significant

contribution to higher levels of customer

satisfaction and advocacy, according to

new research. Visa commissioned re-

searcher RFi to find out what impact new

payment and transaction technology

was having on customers. It found that

transaction banking was increasingly the

key factor determining a main financial

institution relationship. It also found

that customers who hold their primary

credit or debit and/or credit card with

their MFI are more satisfied than those

who hold their primary cards with other

institutions. And “digitally enhanced”

customers (those who interact with their

bank using a mobile device) hold more

products with their MFI than any other

group of customers.

According to the research report, 86

percent of consumers have made an

online purchase in the past 12 months

and 62 percent of people with contactless

cards have made a contactless payment.

In January, contactless payments ac-

counted for more than 60 percent of

all face-to-face Visa transactions in

Australia, compared with 40 percent

in January last year. Twenty-six percent

of respondents said they would use

less cash for their spending in the next

12 months. A longer-term challenge

is to encourage consumers to use

their smartphones to make contactless

payments. Only eight percent of people

have used their smartphone to make a

contactless payment.

Credit Card Debt Ratio Sees 25-Year Low in U.S.

The credit card debt ratio has finally

shifted in favor of the consumer. The

latest annual report on credit card

debt in the U.S. from The Nilson Report

shows that the level of credit card debt

to total consumer credit has reached a

25-year low from 1990’s rate. The figures

released show that total household debt

in the U.S. was $13.51 trillion at the end

of 2014; credit cards accounted for 6.52

percent of that, or $881.57 billion, ac-

cording to the report. The highest ratio of

credit card debt to household debt was in

1996 at 10.05 percent.

Total credit card debt, which is a sub-

set of total consumer credit, hit $3.32

trillion at the end of 2014. The report

also showed that credit card debt made

up for 26.58 percent of total consumer

debt during that same time. Figures also

revealed that credit card debt increased

by $38.23 billion, while total consumer

credit grew by $218.4 billion. The an-

nual report also included figures about

general purpose and private label credit,

debit and prepaid cards, which generated

$5.17 trillion in payments for goods and

services in 2014.

China’s UnionPay Surpasses Visa

China’s UnionPay has surpassed Visa

to become the world’s largest bank

card settlement organization. Fresh

data shows that in the first quarter of

this year, the total transaction volume

of UnionPay cards reached 11.8 trillion

yuan or about 1.9 trillion U.S. dollars.

That’s while the transaction volume

of Visa cards during the same period

reached 1.75 trillion dollars. UnionPay

has issued more than five billion cards

that can be used in 150 countries and

regions around the world.

Kiev Subway Goes Contactless

The Ukrainian capital of Kiev has

become the fifth city in the world, after

London, St. Petersburg, Chicago and

Bucharest, to allow fares to be paid with

open loop contactless cards. Transport

operator Kyivsky Metropoliten has

installed contactless turnstiles equipped

with MasterCard PayPass technology in

17 stations across the subway in partner-

ship with Oshchadbank.

Indian Government Proposes Tax Benefits for Credit and Debit Card Payments

The central government of India came

out with a raft of proposals to encourage

27w w w . i c m a . c o m

electronic transactions, including income

tax benefits for payments made through

debit or credit cards, a move aimed at

cracking down on black money. Trans-

action charges on card payments at

petrol pumps, gas agencies and railway

tickets could be done away with. The

government may also make it mandatory

for all transactions above Rs 1 lakh to

only be conducted electronically. These

measures, listed in the “draft proposals

for facilitating electronic transactions”

that the government put up for public

comments, is part of a broader strategy

to discourage the use of cash and clamp

down on India’s bustling parallel econo-

my that operates outside the legitimate

financial system.

The e-transactions will include those

made through debit/credit cards, mobile

wallets, apps, net banking, electronic

clearing service, National Electronic Fund

Transfer and immediate payment service

(IMPS). The draft did not specify the tax

sops the government could offer. The

government is also looking at encourag-

ing shopkeepers and traders to accept

electronic payments rather than cash.

The government is also considering a

levy of a nominal cash-handling charge

on transactions greater than a specified

level, implying that cash payment beyond

a certain threshold may attract a transac-

tion fee. Also, currently, banks have to

report the aggregate of all the payments

made by a credit card holder as one

transaction, if such an amount is Rs 2

lakh in a year. The ceiling could be raised

to Rs 5 lakh or more. The government

also proposed appropriate changes in the

regulatory structure, if required, to pro-

mote mobile-based payment systems.

Peru Introducing Biometric ID for Prepaid Phone Activation

Peruvian telecoms services regulator

Osiptel has announced that operators

will be required to verify the identity of

new users of prepaid lines via biometric

identification systems. Under the new

rules, prepaid lines will only be activated

once the user’s fingerprint matches that

on record at the country’s national ID

register, Reniec. All authorised distributors

are required to progressively implement

fingerprint ID systems until they become

mandatory in all points of sale from 01

January 2017.

28 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

marketplace

members on the move

ABnote Canada’s CEO Bud Kronenberg to Retire

ABnote announced that

W.I. (Bud) Kronenberg, its

Canadian CEO, has retired.

Upon his retirement, Bud

immediately accepted an

appointment as Chairman

Emeritus of the Board of Directors of

ABnote North America, and will continue

to provide strategic guidance and support

to ABnote’s North American Board and

Executive Team. Eva Chan CPA, CMA

became interim managing director

of ABnote Canada, reporting to Keith

Goldstein, CEO of ABnote North America.

“Bud has done an awful lot for ABnote

over an extended period of time, and

we thank and salute him for his many

accomplishments,” said ABnote’s

Chairman and CEO, Steven Singer.

Singer continued, “He has accumulated

nearly unparalleled experience and

expertise both in the Canadian market-

place in particular, and in the industry as

a whole as an active member and officer

of the International Card Manufacturers

Association (ICMA), as well as ABnote’s

Global Strategy Committee. So, while we

will miss deeply his daily presence in the

offices of ABnote Canada, we are very

pleased that Bud will continue to be in-

volved in ABnote’s success, as Chairman

Emeritus of ABnote North America.”

Mr. Kronenberg served as general

manager of Keystone Manufacturing

beginning in 1990 and was promoted

to the position of president in 2005. Key-

stone was acquired by ABnote in 2008,

at which point Bud was appointed as

CEO of ABnote Canada. During the years

prior to joining Keystone, Bud served in

senior positions of companies in South

Africa, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Bud has been active in ICMA since 1997.

He was voted onto the Board of Directors

of ICMA in 2005 and was recently elected

to the position of vice president and

will continue to serve in that capacity

through his term ending 2016. Interim

Managing Director of ABnote Canada

Eva Chan has been with ABnote

Canada since 1991, working in

numerous management positions,

most recently as senior vice president

and CFO.

For more information, please visit

www.abnote.com.

MasterCard Creates New Sub-Regions

MasterCard announced the appoint-

ment of two co-presidents of two new

sub-regions, which include the region’s

biggest markets—China and India. Ling

Hai and Ari Sarker were appointed co-

presidents of the Asia-Pacific region.

Ling Hai will be focused on Northeast

Asia and Australasia (NEAA) and Ari

Sarker will be focused on Southeast

Asia and South Asia (SEASA).

MasterCard says it wants to develop

its business based on regional market

specificities and pace. In Australia, for

instance, two-thirds of MasterCard

transactions are already contactless

in-store payments. In more emerging

markets like Indonesia, people are just

getting online.

Ling Hai, who joined MasterCard in

2010 as division president of Greater

China, was most recently group

executive of enterprise development,

international markets for MasterCard.

He has over 22 years’ industry experi-

ence, including in financial services

and consulting, across a number

of markets.

Ari Sarker has been with MasterCard

for over four years and was most re-

cently MasterCard’s division president

for South Asia and country corporate

officer in India. He also has over 22

years of experience spanning the

finance, commercial, and M&A sectors

in senior management roles across key

markets in the Americas, Europe and

Asia Pacific.

For more information, please visit

www.mastercard.com.

29w w w . i c m a . c o m

new members

PRINCIPAL MEMBER

Cardstel Solutions Limited NigeriaContact: Peace Njimeziwww.cardstel.com.ng

Cardstel Solutions is a security printing

company with full printing technologies.

Cardstel specializes in the production of

secure and non-secure cards including:

card production, personalized smart

cards, ID cards, digital barcode cards,

scratch cards, magstripe cards, access

cards, loyalty and health cards, white

blank cards, contact and contactless

cards, silver blank cards, gold blank cards,

signature panel, hot stamp scratch-off,

holographic scratch-off, encoding varia-

tion data, and UPC bar coding.

ASSOCIATE MEMBERS

Digital Locksmiths Limited United KingdomContact: Martin Strauchwww.digitallocksmiths.com

Digital Locksmiths develop secure smart-

card operating systems and applications.

The company has expertise covering the

full spectrum of smartcard initiatives, with

particular emphasis on finance (EMV),

government (ICAO, identity and citizens

cards) and transport (eTicketing). Their

latest EMV products have been certified

by both MasterCard and Visa, support

dual interface communications and are

fully compliant with the EMV Common

Personalization Specification.

Printcolor Screen Ltd SwitzerlandContact: Katja Rudolphwww.printcolor.ch

With over 80 years of history and

experience in the production of printing

inks, Printcolor stands for custom-made

solutions, first-class services and the

highest proven Swiss quality. The owner-

managed Swiss family company develops,

produces and sells high quality printing

inks and coatings. Printcolor is specialized

in screen printing, pad printing and

flexo printing.

MEMBER BENEFIT SPOTLIGHT: ICMA’S CARD MANUFACTURER SEARCH FEATURE

Have you updated your company’s profile information on the members section

of the ICMA website? By updating the profile to include information such as

company and product description, market segment, area accepting business,

personalization services, size of cards manufactured, added features, types of

substrates used and more, individuals looking for a manufacturer will be able

to search and choose from fields to find a business that fits their card manu-

facturing needs. To fill out your profile please visit www.icma.com and click

the My ICMA/Log-In at the upper right side of the page. Contact Michele Giovine

at mgiovine@icma.com if you need your unique log-in information. ICMA will be

using this information for our new online Card Manufacturer Search page. Don’t

miss out on this great opportunity.

Atlantic Zeiser GmbH ...............................5

Graph-Tech US .......................................13

Melzer Maschinenbau GmbH .................21

Mühlbauer Inc. ........................................27

Magellan Consulting ...............................28

Sabic Innovative Plastic ...........................2

Shanghai RSID Solutions Co., Ltd. ........19

Spartanics ..............................................23

index of advertisers

Sun Chemical .........................................17

VFP Ink Technologies .............. Back Cover

© 2015 ICMA. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. Printed in U.S.A.

OctoberSmart Card Alliance NFC Solutions Summit October 7-8, 2015

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

ICMA EuroForum October 8-9, 2015

Hilton Munich City

Munich, Germany

ICMA North American Workshop October 20-21, 2015

Renaissance Chicago O’Hare

Chicago, Illinois, USA

NovemberCARTES Paris November 17-19, 2015

Paris, France

AprilICMA EXPO co-located with the SCA Payments Summit April 4-7, 2016

Orlando, Florida, USA

2015

30 C A R D M A N U F A C T U R I N G | A U G U S T 2 0 1 5

industry calendar

2016

To learn more, email info@icma.com or call 1.609.799.4900. www.icma.com

ICMA EuroForumOctober 8-9, 2015 Hilton Munich City Munich, Germany

ICMA North American WorkshopOctober 20-21, 2015

Renaissance Chicago O’HareChicago, Illinois

• Regional knowledge solutions and innovative trends

• Powerful networking and information exchange opportunities

• Roundtable discussions

• Table top displays

• Product Showcase

• ACE certification training and examinations

2015

Registration Now Open! www.icma.com