Hitachi and MasterCard to Set Up Smart Card Venture
Hitachi Ltd. said on Friday that it would set up a joint venture this month with MasterCard International Inc., Australia’s Keycorp Ltd. and a U.S. venture capital firm to promote advanced smart cards. The venture will promote cards based on a multi-application operating system called Multos.
Smart cards have built-in microprocessors and memory for identification or financial transactions. They offer greater functionality and are generally more secure than conventional cards that use magnetic strips. The venture will promote cards based on a multi-application operating system called Multos, which can add various functions such as biometric user identification to conventional cards. Hitachi aims for its smart card-related business, such as equipment to read and write data on the cards, to total 80 billion yen in three years to March 2009.
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