New polyright V5 Software from Multicard Delivers Single Card Solutions for Identity Management, Security and Payment

Multicard, a business unit of Identive Group, Inc., announced an advanced new version of its polyright software platform that enables the integration of identity management, access, payment and related functions onto a single identification credential.

Addressing the growing trend towards all-in-one ID cards, the new polyright V5 platform provides web-based, centralized management of cardholder rights for a variety of security, financial and productivity applications for campus, enterprise and healthcare environments.

“Multi-function ID cards are gaining traction in a variety of areas, especially in campus environments where there are multiple types of users with diverse identity management and access privilege needs. Nearly two-thirds of universities and a growing number of colleges and secondary schools in Switzerland already use the polyright identity management platform to provide students, faculty and staff with a single ID credential that allows each cardholder the appropriate level of access to the computer network and to campus dormitories and facilities, and also enables payment at the cafeteria and for library, printing and copy services,” said Thierry Gattlen, general manager of Multicard Switzerland.

“This latest version of the polyright platform includes tighter and easier integration of different ID functions as well as new Internet-based access for both program administrators and cardholders, including planned apps for mobile devices such as the iPad,” Gattlen added. “This brings additional convenience and department-level account management to our already popular multi-function identity management platform.”

The advanced polyright V5 platform seamlessly connects to Multicard’s polypurse e-wallet, which provides the web interface and transaction software that allows cardholders to buy a coffee at the campus café, rent a bicycle or perform other payment and loyalty functions using their campus ID cards. The cards are easily reloaded with cash value over the Internet by linking to bank accounts or credit cards. Tightly integrated with the new platform is polyright ID Manager, a comprehensive identity management module capable of setting cardholder rights for physical access, network access, e-purse functions, net printing and copying, and other applications. polyright ID Manager works with multiple RFID card technologies, including LEGIC, MIFARE and others, to support mixed-user environments.

One of the first customers to benefit from the new polyright V5 platform is the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). MC polyright, a division of Multicard, is implementing the new platform for ZHdK to enable all of the more than 2,500 students and 1,200 faculty and staff to use their university-issued ID cards for a variety of daily activities around campus. The system will allow administrators to issue and renew ID cards, personalize them, and most importantly, manage all the access rights for each cardholder on multiple applications from one central platform.

In addition, MC polyright is providing the university with point-of-sale terminals, readers and implementation services to enable the ID cards to be used for payment at campus cafeterias, bistros, vending machines and the library. Students of the adjacent Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) may be granted guest access to certain facilities and services on the arts campus, with ID cards issued and managed using the new polyright platform.

“We are excited to be implementing a single-card identity management solution on our campus, and happy to have found a strong partner in MC polyright,” said Alessandra Zanotelli, ZHdK facility manager and director of the Toni-Areal ID management project that includes the ZHdK campus. “In the past, every activity requiring some sort of ID management was handled by a separate solution, each with its own philosophy and without coordination. This was cumbersome and expensive to manage and made it very difficult to add new services such as cashless payment. Multicard’s integrated ID solution provides automated and efficient coordination between all functions, with centralized management of access privileges for each of the functions. The strong reputation of the polypurse e-wallet solution in Switzerland was also a deciding factor for us.”

Multicard is now offering its polyright V5 software to new and current customers, which include the University of Zurich and six other universities in Switzerland, numerous colleges and secondary schools, large corporations, including Philip Morris, SICPA Holding, Kudelski Group and Securitas, and several private hospitals.