Mastercard makes a smartcard move for Europay

Europay, a provider of electronic payment services and smartcards, currently represents Mastercard's operations in Europe.

Richard Tischler, senior manager of corporate communications with Europay, told silicon.com that the boards of both companies had agreed yesterday on the merger.

"Both boards voted to recommend shareholders to integrate the two companies. It's not a done deal. We still have regulatory processes and the shareholders vote to get through, but we're looking at the end of this summer," he said.

While he refused to comment on the reasons behind the merger, Mastercard is believed to be interested in Europay's smartcard payment technology.