The Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Selects NXP’s SmartMX2 for Secure and Fast Banking Card Transactions

EINDHOVEN, THE NETHERLANDS–(Marketwire – Oct 25, 2012) –  NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) today announced that the world’s largest bank, the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), has selected its SmartMX2 high security microcontroller to increase the security and performance of its banking cards. The new cards will have dual interface capabilities that will enable both contact and contactless payments.

The high performance of the SmartMX2™ means that banking cards will deliver exceptional user convenience and speed of transactions allowing banks to offer multiple applications all on one card — for instance, additionally supporting public transport ticketing, providing physical access or government ID. They will also work seamlessly with the contactless infrastructure rapidly being put in place in the country, which is mostly based on NXP technology. ICBC plans to introduce its new cards in 2013 in a bid to improve security and reduce fraud rate.

In addition to banking or credit cards, NXP’s SmartMX technology is used in eGovernment applications such as ePassports, citizen cards, electronic health cards and electronic ID cards, plus in public transport smart cards and in NFC-enabled mobile devices, representing one element of an end-to-end security system. NXP has shipped more than one billion SmartMX chips, including 86 out of the 102 countries with ePassport projects.

“As security and performance were the two biggest criteria for ICBC’s project, ICBC selected our solution after evaluating international and local vendors,” said Ulrich Huewels, vice president and general manager, business line card security with NXP Semiconductors. “Our SmartMX2 technology delivers proven security as well as industry-leading transaction times. Combined with the ensured interoperability with POS devices and ATMs across the world, SmartMX2 provides the best combination of security and performance available in the market.”

Based on trusted security, a complete product portfolio and the best contactless performance, NXP is the leader in the overall ID market as well as in key market segments such as transport ticketing, eGovernment, access, infrastructure, RFID/Authentication, payments and NFC. NXP provides the entire ID market with end-to-end solutions, enabling customers to create trusted solutions for a smarter life.

Visitors to CARTES 2012 (Paris, Nov. 6 – 8) can see NXP’s SmartMX™ technology in multiple solutions developed to authenticate identities and secure transactions (booth 4J 035, Hall 4).

About NXP Semiconductors
NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ: NXPI) provides High Performance Mixed Signal and Standard Product solutions that leverage its leading RF, Analog, Power Management, Interface, Security and Digital Processing expertise. These innovations are used in a wide range of automotive, identification, wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, mobile, consumer and computing applications. A global semiconductor company with operations in more than 25 countries, NXP posted revenue of $4.2 billion in 2011. Additional information can be found by visiting www.nxp.com.