Aix-en-Provence, France, May 24th 2004—INSIDE Contactless is proud to announce that its smartcard technology has been implemented in the Australian International School Singapore (AISS). Today this school is the first one in Singapore to integrate the CAMPUS cashless payment application into the identity cards carried by staff and students using INSIDE’s products such as the Accesso™ desktop USB reader, Hand’IT™-2G compact flash module, and PicoPass™ Contactless cards.

This CAMPUS system is being deployed by Smart Card Innovations to provide multi-application card solution including identification and optional cashless payment for transactions within the school campus, for students, staff and parents. This system allows students and staff to conveniently purchase food at the canteen, uniform and stationary, pay for excursions, photocopies, prints, track attendance, and work with existing libraries infrastructures.

INSIDE’s VP of Sales and General Manager for the Asia/Pacific region, Dennis Khoo, says: “We are very proud to have Smart Card Innovations as our partner for this project. INSIDE’s Picopass cards allow for a variety of proximity and vicinity contactless applications within the campus while our different reader infrastructure supports each application uniquely and securely.”

The brainchild of Daryn Griggs of Smart Card Innovations, the AISS smart card is a contactless card with a smart chip which stores the cardholder’s personal information and provides access to a cash value that can be topped up using the eNETS Virtual Account, an online payment service that is powered by NETS account. The unique finance arrangement allows schools to participate in the program at very little set up cost and once the system is operational it is self-funding’ said Mr Griggs. ‘AISS has been set up as the world showcase for the CAMPUS solution which will be rolled out in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Australia and the USA this year with other countries to follow in 2005’ he said. “INSIDE is a leading player in the contactless chip market and their products complement very well our requirements for security, versatility and high performance”

The eNETS Virtual Account Card is a cashless,electronic payment system that stores monetary value and user information on secure servers at NETS. Virtual Account VCard account holders can use the Internet to access their accounts and make secure payments via the Internet, mobile phones and smart cards. Should a card be lost, staff, students and parents can access their eNETS Virtual Account VCard account online and disable the card.

‘The smart card also allows parents to monitor students’ dietary habits via the Internet and rewards students for making healthy food choices in the school canteen. The card also has a unique feature that alerts canteen vendors to food allergies or restrictions for individual students, thus preventing the purchase of potentially dangerous items. The card may also be used in the school library for borrowing and photocopying, for automated attendance tracking and as a payment method in the uniform and book shops.’ said Mr Griggs. Parents can also put a daily spend limit on their children’s identity cards, a move that is aimed at teaching students about budgeting.