Yesterday's launch of the Northern Europe (NE) OneSMART Club was celebrated with an inaugural meeting in Riga. The Club has been set up for the benefit of banks and processors active in the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and follows on from the success of a similar OneSMART Club set up last year in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Several financial institutions have already indicated their support of the NE OneSMART Club, as have a number of chip technology vendors.

The day-long meeting was attended by more than 30 delegates from across the Baltic States. Speakers included Dave Taylor from Barclaycard in the UK and Ina Stander from South African bank, Capitec, both of whom recently launched added-value EMV chip-based projects.

Each OneSMART Club is designed to help MasterCard's customers leverage the fast growing EMV chip infrastructure through the deployment of added-value chip business propositions. The NE OneSMART Club will initially focus on five such propositions:

• OneSMART MasterCard Authentication – ensures a higher level of security for online shopping and remote banking

• OneSMART MasterCard Web – allows cardholders to securely store and manage a wide range of personal data (such as names, addresses, URLs, log-on passwords) on the smart card chip

• OneSMART MasterCard Pre-Authorised – a new chip-based payment solution suitable for new markets and off-line payment environments

• OneSMART MasterCard Retail – a platform for loyalty applications and enhanced interactions at the point of sale based on customer preferences

• OneSMART MasterCard PayPass – a “tap and go” product which combines the security

“The new EMV chip infrastructure is rapidly developing across Europe.” said Fikret Ates, vice president, Product Management at MasterCard's Chip Centre of Excellence. “There is a great opportunity for MasterCard customers to use this infrastructure to launch new chip-based products which differentiate their card programmes and grow their business through improving customer acquisition, customer retention, card activation and usage. The time to start doing this is now.”

“The OneSMART Club approach has already proved successful in Central and Eastern Europe and we plan to use a similar model here in the Baltic region.” added Pascal Dufour, head of Chip Product Management at MasterCard's Chip Centre of Excellence. “Members benefit from shared learning in joint forums, and in parallel we work with individual customers to support pilots of new applications tailored to the needs of local markets. Although each OneSMART Club is different, we are increasingly seeing a valuable cross-fertilisation of ideas between different clubs in different parts of the world.”

Carlos Rodriguez, general manager for MasterCard's activities in the Nordic and Benelux regions, was also present at the launch. “The Baltic region has a fast growing economy and is characterised by an interesting mix of strong local banks together with subsidiaries of larger banks from the neighbouring Nordic countries,” he said. “These are among the most dynamic and innovative financial institutions in the world and MasterCard is eager to help them catch the next wave of EMV chip deployment. The stage is now set for a rapid and effective adoption of new technology, with EMV migration set to be fast and furious in the Baltic market. The formation of this OneSMART Club is an important part of MasterCard's commitment to the region and one which I am confident will generate significant benefits for our customers for many years to come.”

About MasterCard International
MasterCard International is a leading global payments solutions company that provides a broad variety of innovative services in support of our global members' credit, deposit access, electronic cash, business-to-business and related payment programs. MasterCard manages a family of well-known, widely accepted payment card brands including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus® and serves financial institutions, consumers and businesses in over 210 countries and territories. The MasterCard award-winning Priceless® advertising campaign is now seen in 105 countries and in 48 languages, giving the MasterCard brand a truly global reach and scope. For more information go to www.mastercardinternational.com