According to ST, the EMV-compliant solution is the only Calypso Revision 3 solution produced by a non-card issuer, allowing independent developers to create and implement applications outside of standard ticketing.

The chip is also backwards compatible with existing Calypso readers, which ST says will aid in the rapid roll out of the new solution.

The Calypso ticketing open standard was developed by a consortium of European operators to suit public transportation and other ticketing uses. More than 80 networks in 21 countries currently use some 52 million cards based on Calypso.