LAS VEGAS–The number of EMV payment smart cards shipped worldwide passed the 1 billion mark in 2011, the Smart Payment Association announced here March 5 at the inaugural Cartes in North America Expo & Conference.
The Munich-based organization said its six members, which account for 85% of the smart card market, combined shipped an estimated 898 million EMV chip cards, up 12% from 2010.
Founded in 2004, the association includes Giesecke & Devrient, Gemalto, Oberthur Technologies, Austria Card, Incard and Morpho.
The organization launched its annual review of the smart card payments industry today and plans to continue to continue highlighting its growth annually, a spokesperson tells PaymentsSource.
“After years of slow, steady growth, we are starting to see … tremendous growth in terms of applications and technology” of smart payment cards, Brian Russell, Giesecke & Devrient senior vice president and general manager of payments, told attendees before the event’s kickoff panel discussion.
Many markets across Europe continue to drive strong adoption of payment cards containing EMV chips, and the Asia Pacific region also is seeing strong growth in EMV card shipments, Russell said.
China’s planned migration to EMV in 2015 also is beginning to drive higher numbers of EMV card shipments. But the strongest growth rates for EMV cards in 2011 were observed in North and South America, Russell said.
“And the U.S. is finally moving toward EMV,” Russell said, which will position the smart card industry for even stronger growth next year.
Almost half, or 47%, of EMV cards shipped featured dynamic data authentication or combined data authentication mechanisms designed to block counterfeit card fraud, he said. “We are seeing card fraud decline, and we expect to see continued growth in overall EMV shipments this year and for the next few years,” Russell said.
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