American Express Adds Voice to GlobalPlatform Membership
29 September 2009 – GlobalPlatform, the international specification body for smart card infrastructure, has today announced American Express as its newest Full Member. The payment system's initial focus will be to participate in GlobalPlatform's current standardization efforts to support the convergence of the payment and mobile technical landscapes.
American Express joins GlobalPlatform to have an active role in developing open and interoperable specifications for the entire smart card infrastructure. Its participation complements American Express' current work with EMVCo, the EMV standards body which it jointly operates alongside JCB, MasterCard and Visa to develop and maintain the EMV Specifications for the global payments industry. The two associations are collaborating to advance GlobalPlatform's Specifications relative to secure content management on mobile devices, while ensuring that the technology aligns with EMVCo's application management requirements – including over-the-air (OTA) download and personalization – for mobile devices.
Susan Hillel, Senior Vice President of Global Network Operations at American Express, says: "American Express is delighted to join GlobalPlatform. We are committed to driving an open and interoperable infrastructure that will provide customers with choice and flexibility. American Express recognizes that by contributing to GlobalPlatform, and engaging in its cross-market expertise, we will be in a stronger position to deliver innovative and convenient payment solutions to American Express' users globally. We look forward to lending our market experience and resources to GlobalPlatform, and participating in this important industry initiative."
Kevin Gillick, GlobalPlatform Executive Director, adds: "GlobalPlatform is pleased that American Express has become a member. Its status as a global payment organization, coupled with its strong market presence, aligns with GlobalPlatform's goal to ensure worldwide interoperability of smart card solutions. We look forward to benefiting from American Express' wealth of knowledge and experience."
As a Full Member of GlobalPlatform, American Express is entitled to participate on the GlobalPlatform Advisory Council and to assign representatives to its technical committees – card, device and systems – task forces and working groups. The organization will also enjoy heavily-weighted voting privileges and have the opportunity to nominate a representative annually for election to the Board of Directors.
For further details on different membership opportunities at GlobalPlatform visit: https://globalplatform.wpengine.com/membershiplevels.asp.
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About GlobalPlatform
*2009 is the 10th anniversary of GlobalPlatform - to learn more about its achievements click here*
GlobalPlatform is the world leader in smart card infrastructure development. Its proven technical specifications for cards, devices and systems are regarded as the industry standard for achieving interoperable, sustainable and flexible smart card deployments that support multi-application, multi-actor and multi-business model implementations.
GlobalPlatform is a member driven association with cross-industry representation from all world continents. As of October 2008, an estimated 305.7 million GlobalPlatform-based smart cards had been deployed globally and an additional two billion mid range USIM/SIM cards worldwide are estimated to use GlobalPlatform card technology to enable over-the-air (OTA) application downloads for 3G and GSM mobile networks. www.globalplatform.org
About American Express
American Express Company is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850. Global Merchant Services is the merchant network of American Express, which acquires, processes and maintains relationships with millions of merchants around the globe, which welcome American Express-branded Cards.
For further media information on GlobalPlatform, please contact Georgina D'Arcy or Sarah Jones at iseepr: georgina@iseepr.co.uk / sarah@iseepr.co.uk or on +44 (0) 1943 468007
