If you think that campus ID programs aren’t using smart cards, think again. More than 200 universities have signed on to work with Banco Santander’s University Smart Card program.
The massive financial institution based in Spain has issued more than 4 million smart cards to the university ID cardholders for secure contactless access to facilities, online access to computer networks, payment in campus eateries and vending machines, storing grades and personal documents, and more. Optionally, the card can be linked to a Santander bank account and function for EMV payments as well.
The smart cards, provided by Gemalto, enable digital signature capability so students, faculty and staff can electronically sign documents. The card can also enable ticketing for public transportation in major cities in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Spain. Campuses in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Spain and Uruguay are participating in the program.
Banco Santander is based in Spain and serves European and Latin American markets and, with the acquisition of Sovereign Bancorp., established presence in the U.S. in January 2009. It is among the world’s largest with more than 90 million customers and 14,000 branches. ![[end]](/resources/bullet/cr80news-4.gif)
