SCM Microsystems has signed an agreement with Switzerland’s City Card Systems AG to deliver 10,000 terminals designed for merchant loyalty programs using smart cards. Initial shipments of the SCM retail terminals began in Q1..SCM says this contract will strengthen its position as a leading supplier of the end user infrastructure that enables smart cards applications.
Merchants can customise all aspects of the loyalty card, from graphical design to the features the card will enable, such as reward value and redemption. Information collected through the program can be used by merchants to build customer databases, forecast orders and plan promotional campaigns, much like a Customer Relation Management (CRM) system. City Card will market its program worldwide through regional franchise opportunities.
"City Card provides small and midsize businesses with a professional and affordable solution to launch their own loyalty programs, allowing them to compete in more innovative ways,” said Robert Schneider, founder and chief executive officer of SCM Microsystems.
"For SCM, the cooperation with City Card is very important because it allows us to work with an innovative company to develop and deliver new solutions that address emerging applications for smart cards."
The terminal that SCM will supply to City Card was designed specifically to enable and leverage multifunctional smart cards applications in a retail environment. It is programmable and can be connected through a modem to a telephone or through a serial port to the cash register or PC or can be used in standalone mode. The terminal’s design facilitates rapid transactions for management of bonus points awarded through merchant loyalty programs as well as downloading of new applications and programs. In addition, SCM is also providing a Software Development Kit that allows City Card and their franchise partners to easily port, further develop and extend their application on SCM’s platform.
