Industrial & Commercial Bank of China selects NXP Semiconductor's SmartMX2

The world's largest bank, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has selected NXP Semiconductors' N.V.SmartMX2 high-security micro-controller to increase the security and performance of its banking cards. The new cards will have dual interface capabilities that will enable both contact and contact-less payments. The high performance of the SmartMX2 means that banking cards will deliver exceptional user convenience and speed of transactions allowing banks to offer multiple applications all on one card - for instance, additionally supporting public transport ticketing, providing physical access or government ID. They will also work seamlessly with the contactless infrastructure rapidly being put in place in the country, which is mostly based on NXP technology. ICBC plans to introduce its new cards in 2013 in a bid to improve security and reduce fraud rate . In addition to banking or credit cards, NXP's SmartMX technology is used in eGovernment applications such as ePassports, citizen cards, electronic health cards and electronic ID cards, plus in public transport smart cards and in NFC-enabled mobile devices, representing one element of an end-to-end security system. NXP has shipped more than one billion SmartMX chips, including 86 out of the 102 countries with ePassport projects. "As security and performance were the two biggest criteria for ICBC's project, ICBC selected our solution after evaluating international and local vendors," said Ulrich Huewels, VP and GM, business line card security with NXP Semiconductors. "Our SmartMX2 technology delivers proven security as well as industry-leading transaction times. Combined with the ensured interoperability with POS devices and ATMs across the world, SmartMX2 provides the best combination of security and performance available in the market." Based on trusted security, a complete product portfolio and the best contactless performance, NXP is the leader in the overall ID market as well as in key market segments such as transport ticketing, eGovernment, access, infrastructure, RFID/Authentication, payments and NFC. NXP provides the entire ID market with end-to-end solutions, enabling customers to create trusted solutions for a smarter life. Visitors to CARTES 2012 in Paris (Nov. 6 - 8) can see NXP's SmartMX technology developed to authenticate identities and secure transactions (booth 4J027, Hall 4). Industrial & Commercial Bank of China NXP Semiconductor N.V.