11 November 2011 - Auckland Transport has awarded the tender to supply smartcards for the full stage roll out of Auckland’s HOP integrated smartcard to a joint consortium comprising Placard and NZ Post. The full stage roll-out of HOP will add trains, ferries and all bus operators to the mix.
Auckland Integrated Fares System Programme Director, Greg Ellis says, “Placard is a leading smartcard manufacturer and provider of card management solutions in our region. Placard’s partnering with NZ Post adds specific local know-how which will underpin the distribution of the manufactured cards.
“The cards will be distributed to both point-of-sale as well as direct to customers who purchase them online”.
Mr Ellis says, “The first phase of HOP was rolled out very successfully in May this year onto NZ Bus services.
“The final phase of HOP will begin mid next year and be completed by the end of 2012, with the introduction of trains and ferries initially, followed by all bus operators. Prior to that Auckland Transport will be undertaking an extended field trial of the system utilising selected users. This type of closed pilot follows international best practice for the introduction of a new public transport ticketing system”.
Ganesh Ganeshalingam, Placard’s Managing Director says, “We are proud to have been selected by Auckland Transport to manufacture and personalise cards for the HOP integrated smartcard working closely with NZ Post for distribution of cards to the market. We are delighted to be part of the full stage roll out and look forward to working with Auckland Transport on this exciting project”.
For media inquiries please call: Sharon Hunterl Communications Manager, Auckland Transport 021 545 230, Sharon.hunter@aucklandtransport.govt.nz www.aucklandtransport.govt.nz
About Auckland Transport
Auckland Transport is a Controlled Organisation (CCO) of Auckland Council. It is responsible for all of the region’s transport services (excluding state highways) - from roads and footpaths, to cycling, parking and public transport services for passengers.
About Placard
Placard is a wholly owned Australian company, which has been in existence since 1987 as a manufacturer of plastic cards. Since then, Placard has continued to expand, and now provides comprehensive card program management products including Secure Financial cards, Driver Licences, Medicare cards, Gift cards etc to over 500 clients in Australia and New Zealand and employs in excess of 160 staff. Placard is a well established, quality, total card solutions provider and has a reputation of meeting its commitments to its clients and consistently achieves service levels beyond its clients’ expectations.
Placard is the only secure card manufacturer in Australia and is recognised as the market leader with a substantial card personalisation and fulfillment bureau.
Placard’s secure manufacturing and bureau facilities are Visa, MasterCard and American Express accredited to the highest level including EMV accreditation and also accredited to manufacture Dual Interface cards.
Placard’s core competencies lie in the design, printing, manufacture, personalisation and mailing of ISO Standard secure and non secure plastic cards with Bureau services encompassing the latest Visa and MasterCard EMV standards for embossing, manufacture of Dual Interface cards, magnetic stripe encoding, indent printing, thermal print flat graphics, high quality Drop on Demand personalisation, laser printing processes and intelligent matching & mailing services.
For more information, please visit www.placard.com.au or call +61 3 9722 5200
AUSTIN, Texas, September 30, 2019 ̶ HID Global®, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, today announced that it has acquired Placard, the largest manufacturer of secure cards in Australasia. The acquisition will enhance HID’s presence in the region.
As a market-leader in government, financial, transportation, retail, and enterprise sectors across the Pacific market, Placard produces a range of cards, including driver’s licenses, health insurance cards and a variety of government IDs. The company also specializes in bank cards, retail loyalty cards, monetary gift cards, cards for public transportation and other cards used for enterprise applications.
“Placard’s large installed base of customers in the Australasia region demonstrates the continued strength of secure cards and their relevance in the lives of millions of people every day,” said Stefan Widing, President and CEO with HID Global. “Adding Placard to the HID portfolio would expand our value-add services and enhance our capabilities for trusted identities, while striking the balance between offering a broad range of card solutions and providing customers with the choice of digital IDs as the next wave of the future.”
Placard supports the end-to-end experience of customers’ card programs by offering a comprehensive suite of services, including in-house design, printing, manufacture, personalization and distribution services. Placard’s secure manufacturing and bureau facilities are accredited to the highest level by Visa, MasterCard, China Union Pay and American Express.
“Becoming part of HID Global will add innovative technology to Placard’s offerings, expanding our ability to serve customers in the Australasia region,” said Chris Nunis, CEO of Placard. “HID’s global resources, expertise and exciting vision is complementary to our focus on providing high-quality cards and services for a wide array of use cases. This next step with HID is a perfect fit in our evolution.”
Placard will become a part of HID’s Identification Technologies business area, which is led by Marc Bielmann, Vice President and Managing Director.
8 April 2016 - Placard Pty Ltd, Australia’s leading supplier of card production and personalisation services, is pleased to announce the successful completion of UnionPay International certification for its Australian manufacturing plant and personalisation bureau which is the first facility in the region to do so.
Already operating as Australia’s only secure card manufacturer this accreditation is a major step in being able to service the future requirements for our existing customers as well as others in the Australasia region and beyond.
Placard has recently successfully launched the Australia Post Load&Go China UnionPay prepaid card across Australia Post outlets country wide as well as being readily available via the Australia Post website.
“Obtaining UnionPay International accreditation is another example of how Placard is introducing new business opportunities and offerings that support and meet the changing needs of its customers” said Chris Nunis, Placard’s CEO.
Mr. James Yang, General Manager of UnionPay International South Pacific, said “We are very glad that Placard becomes the first certified vendor of card production and personalisation for UnionPay International in Australia. Now, UnionPay serves the world’s largest cardholder base, and we hope to accelerate the process of local card issuance by cooperating with major institutions in Australia, so as to provide more convenient and cost-effective payment service for the local residents in their daily consumption and international travels.”
About Placard
Placard is an Australian organisation, which has been in existence since 1987 as a manufacturer of plastic cards. Since then, Placard has continued to expand and is now operational in New Zealand, providing comprehensive card programs to over 500 clients and employs in excess of 160 staff. Placard is a well-established, quality, total card solutions provider and has a reputation of meeting its commitments to its clients and consistently achieves service levels beyond its clients’ expectations.
Placard is the only secure card manufacturer in the country and is recognised as the market leader in Australia with a substantial card personalisation and fulfilment bureau.
Placard’s secure manufacturing and bureau facilities are Visa, MasterCard, China Union Pay and American Express accredited to the highest level.
Placard’s core competencies lie in the design, printing, manufacture, personalisation and mailing of ISO Standard secure and non-secure plastic cards with Bureau services encompassing the latest Visa and MasterCard EMV standards for embossing, manufacture of Dual Interface cards, magnetic stripe encoding, indent printing, thermal print flat graphics, high quality Drop on Demand personalisation, laser printing processes and intelligent matching & mailing services.
For more information, please visit www.placard.com.au or call Tess Barone, General Manager, Sales & Marketing on +61 3 9722 5200.
About UnionPay International
UnionPay International (UPI) is a subsidiary of China UnionPay focused on the growth and support of UnionPay’s global business. As a membership organization with over 300 members worldwide, UnionPay International has enabled card acceptance in over 150 countries and issuing in more than 30 countries. UnionPay International provides high quality, cost effective and secure cross-border payment services to the world’s largest cardholder base and ensures convenient local services to a growing number of global UnionPay cardholders and merchants.
4 February 2014 – Placard Pty Ltd, Australia’s leading supplier of card production and personalisation services, has selected Bell ID's trusted service manager (TSM) software solutions to enable it to provision and manage mobile near field communication (NFC)-based applications for its customer base.
Placard can now assume the role of a TSM, using Bell ID’s software platform to support mobile network operators (MNOs) and service providers such as banks and transit operators to deploy mobile NFC services. Through its TSM services, Placard provides the personalisation of NFC secure elements and the secure provisioning of applications – such as payment, loyalty and transit – ‘over the air’ to an NFC enabled mobile handset pre- and post-issuance.
“Bell ID's software solutions enable Placard to offer services and support to the emerging NFC industry. We recognised a need within the region for services of this nature and have extended our personalisation capabilities to include NFC-enabled mobile devices. Additionally, having the facilities to offer traditional TSM services combined with support for all form factors of secure element, including Secure Element in the Cloud, has put Placard at the forefront of the NFC ecosystem,” said Chris Nunis, CEO of Placard.
Pat Curran, Executive Chairman of Bell ID, adds: "2014 is the year when value added NFC services will come to consumer devices. We are already seeing services launching to consumers in markets such as Canada so it is pleasing to see Placard taking the initiative in Australia and using our technology to capitalise on the mobile NFC opportunity."
-ENDS-
About Placard
Placard was acquired by Australian Private Equity firm RMB Capital Partners in 2012 via a leverage buyout with Chris Nunis, joining the newly formed management team as Director and CEO, at the time of the transaction. Placard holds leading positions across a diverse range of card markets including financial services, identification & licenses, healthcare and transport. The company was founded in 1987 and produces over 90 million cards annually. Placard provides a one-stop-shop offering comprising card design, manufacture, personalisation and fulfilment. On the back of positive industry trends and solid management execution, the business has doubled revenues over the last three years. Today the company operates the only Australian-based production facility that is accredited by all four major payment schemes and services a wide range of blue chip customers under multi-year contracts.
For more information please visit www.placard.com.au or contact Steve Carlin – National Technical Manager (steve.carlin@placard .com.au)
About Bell ID
Bell ID (www.bellid.com) is a global provider of smart chip management solutions. Its proven technology manages the lifecycles of applications and cryptographic keys.
Whether you are a mobile network operator delivering mobile services, financial institution migrating to EMV, or government issuing body rolling out e-identity cards, Bell ID has the software solution to meet your specific token management needs.
For more information please visit www.bellid.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
We find the team at Placard rise to every challenge we have and are committed to our business success. They remain flexible and knowledgeable to meet our objectives and it is a pleasure to work with them... Read more
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