SCM Microsystems to Supply Card Readers to China Unicom

SCM Microsystems, a leading provider of solutions for secure access, secure identity and secure exchange and a business unit of Identive Group, Inc., announced that it has been selected to provide high-speed card reader/writers for China Unicom’s point of sales kiosks and stores nationwide. The readers will enable China Unicom to quickly and cost effectively configure the specific services requested by each new or returning customer.

China is the largest single GSM market in the world today, with more than 650 million users despite market penetration below 50%, according to a 2009 report of the GSM Association. The majority of mobile phone users in China opt for prepaid plans based on removable SIM cards, which often come with new subscriber benefits in terms of pricing and other advantages.

SIM cards also provide flexibility, as service coverage typically is limited to a specific geographic region and it is more cost effective to simply switch out the SIM card and use a local service subscription when traveling from one area to another. The demand for SIM cards in China is significant, and mobile phone operators are rapidly changing their business models to provide quick configuration of cards for subscribers.

To date, SCM has delivered over 50,000 of its high speed SCR3310v2 reader/writers, which are being used in China Unicom’s point of sales kiosks and stores to quickly personalize a SIM phone card for each subscriber on the spot.

Previously, China Unicom relied on predefined cards that enabled specific combinations of services, such as voice and mobile banking, mobile chatting, mobile banking and chatting or mobile info-on-demand. In addition to the inventory challenge this created, it was difficult for China Unicom to ensure that it could satisfy the requests of every subscriber in every location. By using blank SIM cards and SCM’s reader/writers, China Unicom can now personalize the card based on each customer?s service selection, including the SIM cards used in the popular iPhones and iPads, which China Unicom exclusively provides to the China market.

“Implementing our Remote Personalization System, or RPS, is an important step for China Unicom to provide our customers with the high quality service they expect. Due to the large amount of data that must be securely uploaded to each card and the quick service turn around time required, we needed a robust, high-speed reader/writer for this program. SCM’s reader combines performance with ease of use and reliability, making it a clear choice,” said Gu Ding-Ming, service manager, marketing department of China Unicom Ltd. “Our RPS project is working successfully, helping our staff to provide ‘just in time’ personalization of cards for both existing and new subscribers.”

“China Unicom is one of the largest mobile communications providers in the world and we are pleased to have been selected as a supplier for the company’s RPS program,” said Michael Schreiber, vice president sales of SCM Microsystems. “This project demonstrates once again the flexibility of SCM’s product strategies to fulfill various local standards. We look forward to a long and successful relationship with China Unicom and to deepening our footprint in China with innovative solutions that address the needs of this large and growing market.”