Mondex launches Japanese smartcard drive

Smartcard giant, Mondex has announced the launch of a franchise deal that it claims will see the mainstream introduction of smartcards across Japan.

Sanwa Bank - one of the top ten banks in Japan - together with credit card giants JCB and Mastercard International will buy the franchise that they hope will lead to rapid deployment across the country.

According to Mondex, the Japanese will snap up the smartcards because of their acceptance of advanced card culture and technology. The cards will be used to pay for, amongst other things, telephones, transport, vending machines and leisure activities.

Smartcards - seen by many as the next generation in cash and payment systems - have yet to be embraced by mainstream consumers in Europe and the US.

The strong branding behind the deal could prove tough competition for rival Visa's own smartcard drives in Japan. But Visa has a head start with almost 100,000 individual users already.