Sema Group Plc, the systems integrator, has made a move into the smartcard arena, acquiring a 10% stake in Prepayment Cards Ltd Plc, a UK smartcard joint venture company. The French firm will develop applications for loading onto the smartcards, possibly in e-purses, internet access payment for products on interactive television and for GSM phones, according to John Tilley, managing director of Sema’s UK arm which made the investment.
Sema has also won a 10-year contract to provide implementation services for UK PCL customers on the back of the investment. The deal also gains the French firm access to the smartcard technology of PCL’s principal shareholder, Australia-based ERG Ltd. Sema has an option to buy an additional 10% of PCL from the Australian smartcard developer. No financial terms for any of the deals were disclosed.
The third stakeholder in PCL, UK-based transport company Stagecoach Plc, has won a contract to supply Manchester with smartcards for its transport system. This is the key application, which Tilley refers to as the infrastructure, that will enable Sema to build more applications round an base of existing smartcards. Tilley says that the smartcard system will reduce queuing times for transport by up to 70% and will cut costs.
