May 15, 2006
The LECIP Corporation, headquartered in Gifu Prefecture's Motosu City under its president Makoto Sugimoto, has been selected by a division of Japan Railways, JR East Japan Mechatronics, JREM, headquartered in Tokyo's Shibuya district under its president Tetsuya Ueda, as a collaborative
development partner, upon LECIP's development of a data-reading terminal, or reader/writer device, which can as a single device serve multiple payment systems such as those called 'Suica Electronic Money' and 'Mobile Credit'.
Conventionally, a separate reader/writer has been necessary for each different contactless smart card system, however this universal device has the capability to handle several forms of payment such as e-money and credit cards. The creation of this unit not only broadens the possibilities of payment, but being a unitary payment terminal it also simplifies and conserves installation space, enhancing convenience for both users: paying customers as well as the retailers that install them.
Additionally LECIP has become a collaborative development partner with JREM, maker of the Kantoh IC Bus Integrated Unit, in the launch of the "Smart Card Fare Unified Service", a part of the Suica and PASMO programs that is planned to go into operation in March of 2007 in the capitol metropolitan region and which will enable bus and other transport operators, beginning with JR and local rail companies, to provide fare payment with a single card.
Aside from a history of providing smart card fare payment devices to domestic bus operators in all regions of Japan, LECIP has among its overseas contracts the reader/writer units for the Octopus contactless fare payment system of Hong Kong, though this is the first time we have participated in a domestic development and production project for a smart card system that includes payment for the sale of goods.
Through the development of smart card reader/writer units outside of application to public transportation, LECIP aspires to help realize "a comfortable everyday", contributing to the convenience and effectiveness of many facets of people's lives.
Impact on Corporate Earnings
We anticipate that this development will effect this year's corporate earnings figure, but that is still under assessment and will be published separately.
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'Suica' is a registered trademark of East Japan Passenger Railways Corporation.
'PASMO' is a registered trademark of Pasmo Corporation.Pasmo Corporation, formerly PassNet/Bus IC Card Corporation, through its issuance of a train-and-bus, dual-use contactless smart card, markets them through a total of 99 train and bus operators in the capitol metropolitan region, making the card, with a few exceptions, usable on any routes of any of the area's member operators.
The 'Octopus Card' is Hong Kong's e-money contactless smart card which began operation in 1997. Its range of use begins with such public transportation as buses, minibuses, and subway, and is extended broadly to being utilized in fast food chains, convenience stores, vending machines and parking meters. LECIP produces the reader/writers used in such installations as minibuses, fast food stores, convenience stores, and parking meters.
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