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Inside Contactless selected as finalist to receive cartes 2006 Best Hardware sesame award

17/10/2006

Aix en Provence, France, October 17th, 2006 – INSIDE Contactless, a world leader for contactless semiconductor chips, today announced that its MicroPass L4 chip platform has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Sesame Award, to be presented at CARTES 2006.

The SESAMES Awards represent the global standard for card manufacturers and related industries.  More than 200 international companies have been nominated, including all of the leading manufacturers, users, integrators, and developers in the card industry.  On the exhibition’s opening eve, the 10 prize-winners will be announced and honored during an evening reception, taking place on November 6, 2006 in the Théâtre Marigny.  

One winner will be selected from each of the following categories: Software; Identification Applications; IT Security; Transport; Banking/Retail Applications; Healthcare, Mobile Applications; E-Transactions, Loyalty Applications, and Hardware:  INSIDE’s MicroPass L4 contactless payment platform has been selected as a finalist in the Hardware category along with other industry leaders including Gemalto, and Infineon Technologies.  

INSIDE’s MicroPass is a microprocessor-based contactless chip platform specifically designed for contactless transactions.  Its innovative design enables optimum read distance, and requires minimal power consumption for contactless applications. MicroPass enabled bank cards feature the industry’s fastest transaction processing speeds, providing a consistent and reliable experience for card holders.  The MicroPass L4 platform supports all major payment brand requirements.  Initially launched in November 2005, nearly 10 million units have been shipped to date.  

”MicroPass® has become the most widely used contactless payment platform because of the efficiencies it provides to card manufacturers and the performance and reliability it delivers to issuers and consumers,” said Remy de Tonnac, CEO of INSIDE Contactless.  “MicroPass being selected as a finalist for a Sesame Award further validates INSIDE’s leading position in the industry, and we’re thrilled to be recognized by the nomination committee at CARTES.”  

About INSIDE Contactless:
Headquartered in France with a global presence in China, Singapore, Poland and the USA, INSIDE Contactless is a leading fabless semiconductor provider, delivering the most flexible, innovative, cost-effective, and trusted platform for contactless applications including bank card payments and Near Field Communications (NFC).  INSIDE is involved in numerous industry initiatives, including the NFC Forum, which is driving the standardization of NFC; as well as the IN-CLUB Limited, which is a non-profit association that brings together companies in the Payment, ID, Mass Transit and Mobile application markets, to collaborate on contactless applications and initiatives. 

About CARTES 2006:
The 21st edition of CARTES (exhibition and congress), taking place November 7, 2006, at Paris-Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre, is the world’s premier event for smart card and identification professionals.  More than 18,000 visitors are expected.  The 2006 Sesames Awards always expected by the industry and now recognized as the world reference for the card manufacturers, will be given the evening before the opening of the exhibition at the Théâtre Marigny in Paris.  To find out more regarding the latest CARTES 2006 news, please visit: www.cartes.com