CECA, the Spanish Confederation of Savings Banks, and the Visa International and 4B payment systems association are still in disagreement over the standardization of a single Smart Card for use as an electronic purse with small purchases and telephone calls in mind. For the moment, each group has decided to go its own way. The Visa and 4B association, an umbrella for all the main banks and the two most powerful savings banks in Spain, La Caixa and Caja de Madrid, is already running pilot trials with its Smart Card, while CECA hopes that by the end of the year it will be able to launch its own particular product, which has attracted the support of 48 savings banks. CECA recently announced that Gemplus SA will supply this card, which is to have a MOCOS mask, for use in its Dinero 6000 program. Unless the two groups reach a compromise, consumers are faced with the inconvenience of not being able to use the same terminal for both cards. CECA claims that although Visa would appear to be some way ahead timewise, unlike the CECA-sponsored Smart Card under development, the current Visa card with the TIBC mask can be used only in Spain, since it does not meet international standards. Visa Espana retorted that it has plans to launch the new TIBC2 mask in a few months; this will be incorporated on to its Visa-Cash system cards, solving any problems of international compatibility. Visa International Inc will be testing this mask at the Olympic Games in Atlanta this summer.
