Gemalto Launches Unique Optical Reader for Online Banking

Gemalto, a provider in digital security, announced commercial launch of Ezio Optical TAN, a unique optical authentication reader for online banking specially designed for the German market. The size of a credit card, the Gemalto reader fits in a wallet along with the banking card, to offer unmatched convenience and portability. Ezio Optical TAN is compliant with the latest German HHD standard and leverages the security of the widely deployed SECCOS banking cards. With 30 million users, Germany has the largest number of online banking customers in Europe.


With Ezio Optical TAN, online customers can enjoy anytime, anywhere e-banking with utmost simplicity. Users just present the device in front of their computer screen and optical sensors capture the data they would normally enter from the reader keypad to carry out and sign online transactions. No software needs to be installed to use the device.


"Reinforcing e-banking services security has always been a priority for German banks and they were among the first in Europe to implement strong authentication solutions," commented Jacques Seneca, Executive VP of the Security Business Unit for Gemalto. "Gemalto's historical presence in Germany, particularly in the banking sector, has provided us with an in-depth understanding of local banks' specific needs. This resulted in the development of an authentication solution that is perfectly tailored for this very advanced market."