Smart Bits: Oki Smart Card ReaderCertified for Visa Cash

Oki Advanced Products said its Value Checker smart card reader was certified for use in the Visa Cash stored-value system.

The compact readers will be labeled Visa Viewers. Oki said it is working closely with Visa International on the next generation of reading devices for multiple-application cards.

The affiliate of Oki Electric Industry Co. of Japan is also a major supplier to the competing Mondex program.

Value Checkers were deployed by both Citibank (Visa Cash) and Chase Manhattan Bank (Mondex) for the smart card trial on New York's Upper West Side.

Citibank customers are getting both a key-ring version and a thin card- insert sleeve called Value Checker CP.

Chase is supplying a more advanced sleeve with a key pad, called Value Checker Plus, which has been tested and approved by Mondex International.

The Plus model has a port for connecting to a personal computer, letting electronic cash be transmitted over the Internet, as well as enabling other on-line capabilities.

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