Infineon strengthens footprint in expanding Chinese payment market

Munich, Germany – January 25, 2016 – Chip-based payment solutions are easy to use and offer higher data security than magnetic stripe cards. In 2015, China took the pole position worldwide in terms of growth for both issuing volume and the transaction value with chip-based payment cards. As one of the first foreign chip suppliers, Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) has received the “China UnionPay Security Product Certification” for its SLE77 security payment chip. China UnionPay (CUP) is the country’s domestic bank card organization established under the approval of the State Council and the People’s Bank of China. It plays an essential role in the development of China’s bank card industry: CUP is responsible for the validation of secured payment card products and issuance of certificates.

In addition, the Financial Computerization (FC) magazine honored Infineon’s SLE77 security chip with the “Outstanding Product Innovation Award”. Infineon was selected by a jury of independent industry experts. The FC magazine is the professional financial industry publication of the Financial Computerization Corporation, supervised by the People’s Bank of China.

“The Chinese payment card market has great significance for Infineon. It’s a great honor for us to be recognized by both China UnionPay and the People’s Bank of China,” said Thomas Rosteck, Vice President at Infineon’s Chip Card & Security division. “This reinforces our market position and endorses our bid to become the first choice for the Chinese banking industry: we are committed to supporting much more convenient payment services for consumers and improving financial security in close cooperation with all financial institutions and ecosystem players.”

Infineon has witnessed and participated in every paradigm shift of the payment industry in China. The SLE77 series further improves the efficiency, security and user experience of contactless solutions. In China, SLE77 has found a large installed base in cards issued by financial institutions. Among them are large state-owned banks, joint-stock commercial banks, or rural credit cooperatives.

The SLE77 series is certified according to internationally accepted security standards such as Common Criteria and EMVCo. It is ideally suited for multi-application and JAVA-Card based operating systems. In addition, Infineon’s innovative Coil on Module (CoM) packaging technology significantly simplifies manufacturing of dual-interface cards. At the same time it improves production yield and reliability of the card.

Furthermore, the SLE77 series plays a significant role in the field of smart transport ticketing around the world as well as in smart wearable solutions. Supporting over 100 million end users every day, it is deployed in major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Further examples can be found in Spain, the UK, Korea and Brazil.

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG is a world leader in semiconductor solutions that make life easier, safer and greener. Microelectronics from Infineon is the key to a better future. In the 2015 fiscal year (ending September 30), the company reported sales of about Euro 5.8 billion with some 35,400 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).