ViVOtech and Gemalto: Kings of the Contactless Technology Hill

ABI Research recently published its latest report on the contactless technology industry, including vendor matrixes showing which companies lead the pack. For those not familiar, contactless technology (also sometimes referred to as “near field communications”) refers to systems that use short-range wireless signal to transmit information from a small tag or transmitter to a receiver. Two examples are E-Z Pass for paying highway tolls, and key-fobs that provide access to corporate buildings.

 

Two companies that I have to admit I’d never heard of before topped ABI’s matrix of leading contactless reader and contactless inlay vendors: ViVOtech and Gemalto, respectively.

 

ViVOtech is a company that specializes in technology for next-generation, electronic payment systems. This includes things like radio frequency-enabled credit cards and infrared cell phones. On its Web site, the company indicates that a major barrier to the adoption of contactless payment systems is the cost of replacing or upgrading magnetic stripe terminals. With this in mind, ViVOtech has developed solutions that make such upgrades fast, safe, and affordable.

 

“Customers simply wave their contactless cards or point their cell phones or PDAs to make a payment transaction,” the company explains on its Web site. “Using ViVOtech's enabling plug and play technology, financial institutions, wireless operators and retailers, can increase revenues significantly.”

 

ViVOtech’s solutions fall into four main product lines:

 

Gemalto is a company that manufactures end-to-end digital security solutions. This includes everything from the development of software apps through design and production of devices like smart cards and tokens. The company’s products are used in a variety of industries including telecom, financial services, e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights management, IT security and mass transit.

 

On the Smart Readers & Tokens section of its Web site, Gemalto explains that it makes secure card interfaces, including readers, chipsets, contactless interfaces, USB tokens, and dongles. During 2006, its installed base of readers and card interfaces reached 30 million units.

 

So there you have it—two relatively unknown companies that top the list of vendors providing a type of wireless technology that we may someday take for granted.