Infineon Technologies announced it has won a contract to be the sole supplier of contactless microprocessor chips for the Shenzhen Tong transit card.
In the last six months, Shenzhen Tong Ltd., the public transportation company, has issued more than two million microcontroller cards in the city of Shenzhen. All of these cards incorporate Infineon’s security microcontroller. Issuance unit volume of these cards is expected to exceed three million by the end of 2008.
The microcontroller cards are multi-application and can be used as tickets in public transportation as well as to pay for goods in stores. In the transportation sector, the metro and more than 10,000 buses have been fitted to accept the cards. In the payment sector, more than 500 supermarkets, shopping malls and convenience stores accept Shenzhen Tong cards for payments up to around $150.
By the year 2011, Shenzhen Tong Co. Ltd has planned to deploy the cards fully in all metro and buses, with deployment extending also to rental cars and more than 3,000 retailers. More than eight million microcontroller cards are expected to be issued within the next three years.
Located North of Hong Kong and within commuting distance, Shenzhen is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and has the second busiest port in mainland China, ranking only after Shanghai. Its population is listed at around twelve million. Shenzhen is one of the earliest cities in China to upgrade its transportation system to use smart card technology. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/archive-4.gif)
