Linxens and Smart Payment Association (SPA) Announce Cooperation

PARIS and MUNICH, November 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

The Smart Payment Association (SPA) and Linxens announce today that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation. Linxens, a world leader in the design and manufacture of Microconnectors for smartcards and RFID Antennas and Inlays, becomes a Market Forecasting Advisory Council Member of SPA, the trade body of the smart payment technology providers.

The SPA is engaged in extensive market monitoring and forecasting activities, using the data sets it collects to generate independently verified market statistics and reports; data that is provided as a free benefit to SPA members and Advisory Council members. 

In an important step, the SPA has responded to wider audience demands for access to its proprietary data with the launch of two new Market Monitoring Advisory Councils. Making it possible for non-SPA member organizations, operating in the wider payment ecosystem, to participate in the payment market monitoring activities of the SPA and access the most up-to-date marketplace data available. 

"The global payment value chain is evolving rapidly, with existing and emerging organizations addressing specialist verticals and payment applications. The SPA's Advisory Councils make it possible for these companies to participate and cooperate in discrete areas of activity or interest, without having to commit to the extended range of initiatives and specializations undertaken by our full members," explains Julien Drouet, President, SPA.

"We are very happy to welcome Linxens as an Advisory Council Member," he concludes.

"In today's digital world, new opportunities to augment smartcard security with on-card biometric sensors, and to extend identity and payment services to Internet of Things-enabled devices, requires ever deeper levels of collaboration between component manufacturers and the smartcard industry," says Franck Germain, VP Marketing SCS at Linxens.

"As an Advisory Council member of SPA, we have a unique opportunity to work closely with Smart Card stakeholders, sharing market insights to support the development of innovative new connection technologies."

Open to EMV technology vendors supplying cards and/or modules, Advisory Members joining the SPA Monitoring Advisory Council participate in the SPA's Monitoring Working Group, contribute to its market monitoring and forecasting processes, and access quarterly global market monitoring reporting data as well as bi-annual market estimation reports. This includes granular data sets by geographic regions, technology (contactless, dual interface, DDA and non-DDA) and application (payment smart cards, ID/social cards with payment application chip, transport cards with payment application chip).

Open to organizations operating within the wider payment ecosystem, Advisory Members joining the SPA Forecasting Advisory Council will be able to engage with the SPA Working Group responsible for forecasting and provide input into the market forecast process. Advisory Members will also gain access to select quarterly global market monitoring report data, in addition to granular bi-annual data sets that form the SPA's global market estimation reports.

The Market Monitoring Advisory Councils are the first to be launched under an innovative Advisory Council Program that has been initiated by the SPA in response to growing demand from today's rapidly expanding payment community.

Organizations looking to apply for SPA Market Monitoring Advisory Council Member status can find more information on the SPA website, together with details on the annual fees.

About the Smart Payment Association (SPA) 

The Smart Payment Association (SPA) addresses the challenges of the evolving payment ecosystem, offering leadership and expert guidance to help its members and their customers realise the opportunities of smart, secure and personalised payment systems and services both now and for the future. For more information on the SPA, visit our website: http://www.smartpaymentassociation.com.

About Linxens  

Linxens, a leading technology company providing component-based solutions for security and identification, is a world-class specialist in the design and manufacture of Microconnectors for smart cards and RFID Antennas and Inlays. With over 90 billion Microconnectors and 3 billion RFID Antennas supplied to date, Linxens is the preferred supplier of many of the world's technology pioneers shaping the markets of telecom, transport, hospitality, leisure & entertainment, financial services, eGovernment, access control, healthcare and Internet of Things (IoT). Linxens is also present in the lighting market with its innovative LED lighting solutions commercialized under the Liite brand. Linxens is headquartered in Levallois Perret (France) and employs over 3,000 people worldwide, with four R&D centers and seven manufacturing locations across Europe and Asia.