Thales today announced it has won the MasterCard ‘Best Vendor Partner’ Award presented at the 2006 MasterCard Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) Product Forum in Hong Kong. The award recognises Thales’s outstanding leadership in data security technology and the high quality support it has provided MasterCard Worldwide as the company increases its position in the payments market space.
Thales and MasterCard Worldwide enjoy a relationship lasting almost 20 years and collaborate on payment card projects worldwide with Thales providing security solutions such as Thales Host Security Module to certain MasterCard issuing and acquiring banks. Thales has worked recently with MasterCard on a number of smart card projects, including the global M/Chip CAP project which is an easy-to-use two-factor authentication solution to secure Internet banking and e-Commerce transactions. In 2005, Thales worked with MasterCard to launch the world’s first MasterCard TM OneSmart™ PayPass TM Chip Combi Card which serves as an electronic purse payment chip card for mass transit in Southern Taiwan.
Shuan Ghaidan, head of product sales and delivery, Asia/Pacific Region, MasterCard Worldwide, said: “Our relationship with Thales has continued to strengthen over the years. As a trusted vendor working in close collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide, Thales has provided expertise and innovation on security solutions for our customer financial institutions.”
Richard Mallett, managing director of Thales e-Security (Asia) Ltd, added: “This award is testament to the strength of our ongoing security solutions collaboration with MasterCard Worldwide both globally and in the region. The recognition from MasterCard Worldwide follows on from Thales’s OneSmart™ Innovation Award last year - to be acknowledged two years in a row is a remarkable achievement. We intend to build on our relationship with MasterCard Worldwide in the region, both as a supplier and partner, and will continue to deliver expertise and innovation in security, particularly around identity management and smart card technologies.”
The MasterCard Product Awards, which cover the APMEA region, recognise excellence and best practice in card product innovation and operation in a variety of categories over the past 12 months. The panel of award judges comprised of senior executives from MasterCard Worldwide.
About Thales
Thales is a leading international electronics and systems group, serving defence, aerospace and security markets worldwide, supported by a comprehensive services offering. The group’s civil and military businesses develop in parallel to serve a single objective: the security of people, property and nations. Leveraging a global network of high-level researchers, Thales offers a capability unmatched in Europe to develop and deploy critical information systems. Thales employs 60,000 people in 50 countries and generated revenues of € 10.3 billion in 2005, with a record order book of over € 20 billion.
Operating in three main markets covering e-security, card payment and network security, Thales’ e-Security activities address the business, government and finance industries’ need for cryptographic security products and solutions. Over half of the world’s banks, together with the majority of the busiest exchanges, currently use Thales technology. For more than 25 years the company has been at the forefront of security and payment technology, co-operating and contributing to set the industry standards used for financial transactions and e-commerce globally. Thales e-Security activities offer a wide range of security solutions to protect Government and Defence critical information infrastructures, thereby positioning the company as a leading worldwide supplier of certified network security products.
Contacts
Sarah Milligan
Thales
Sarah.milligan@thalesesecurity.com
+44 (0) 1844 204181
Sharon Brennan
Hotwire
sharon.brennan@hotwirepr.com
+44 (0) 20 7608 4628
