In order to obtain validation from PBOC, Hyundai conducted a joint development project for one year with Hyundai Estie, a Korean venture firm specializing in smart cards. PBOC’s validation certifies that Hyundai’s smart card chip technology and Hyundai Estie’s COS technology are both world-class technologies. In 1998, PBOC established the technological and security standards for bank cards, electronic purses, transportation cards, social security cards, and other related products. Therefore, providers must obtain validation from PBOC in order to sell such products to the Chinese market. Hyundai has successfully completed all required tests for smart card chips, COS, Chip on Board packages, and plastic cards in an official PBOC test center, an independent testing institution operated by the Chinese government. Hyundai has agreed to supply 42 million units of product to Chinese System Integration( SI ) businesses over the next five years. Hyundai plans to export product valued at $5 million this year and $20 million next year, reaching a total of at least $100 million in exports over the next three years. Hyundai Estie Co. Ltd. is a company that was spun-off from Hyundai’s integrated circuit card business unit, which handles banking cards and related handsets, as well as SI business, including development of COS, the core technology of smart card chips. Hyundai Estie has contracts for K-CASH smart cards with five main Korean banks and plans to extend its business globally, including China.
– Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd. has acquired the standard validation for electronic money from the Peoples Bank of China (PBOC). This makes Hyundai an official provider for smart card chips and Chip Operation Systems (COS) to China. Although PBOC has also validated Infineon Technologies and ST Microelectronics NV, Hyundai is the first provider to receive validation for both smart card chips and COS at the same time.
