On Track Innovations Ltd. (NASDAQ: OTIV), a global provider of near field communication (NFC) and cashless payment solutions under the brand “oti,” has been issued a new patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that enhances its innovations in the field of contactless smart cards.
The new U.S. patent No. 8,651,387, titled “Multi-Application Contactless Smart Card,” describes a multi-application contactless smart card system and method that allows a user to select an application using a unique switching mechanism located on board the smart card. This innovation allows, for example, the accommodation of several ‘application cards’ on the same physical card.
Generally, smart cards support a single application, such as a particular credit card. However, today’s consumers typically carry a variety of credit cards, including a combination of debit and credit cards, fuel cards, high-security identification and access-control cards, public transport payment cards, and drivers licenses. Carrying around these numerous cards can be cumbersome. However, oti’s newly patented technology solves this problem by allowing contactless smart cards to support multiple uses.
According to BCC Research, smart card shipments are expected to reach 11.1 billion units or $7.3 billion in total sales by 2017. Smart card technology is a major driving force for the payment transaction market, since it allows customers to make secure payments. The rapid growth of contactless smart cards is being driven by a multitude of factors, including mobile device proliferation, new NFC standards, faster processing speeds, increased security concerns, and consumer demand for greater convenience.
The newly issued patent strengthens oti’s growing presence in the contactless payment market, where oti’s payment solutions have been certified by MasterCard, Visa, and others.
“Over the last 20 years, oti has continuously invested in innovation,” noted Dimitrios Angelis, the company’s chairman and CEO of oti America. “Through the patent system, we continue to create and protect the value of technology that has been developed by our world-class engineers. This patent supports our ongoing efforts to monetize our intellectual property through business operations, licensing and related arrangements.”
