Trusted identity solutions provider, HID Global, announced an expansion to its Seos credential family, adding two new products to the line. The Seos 16K marks the first credential certified to the highest IT security level with 16 kilobytes of memory, and Seos Essential is the company’s new, single-application credential that delivers trusted security and data protection for less complex deployments.

A series of new reports from the International Card Manufacturers Association (ICMA) suggest that COVID could be impacting demand across the global plastic card market. The ICMA report projects that the total value of the global plastic cards market has fallen by $3B over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the number of cards manufactured worldwide falling by 19.7% from 37.1B in 2019 to 29.8B in 2020.

A new bill was unanimously passed in December by the United States Senate that, if signed into law, would affect campus card programs at all US colleges and universities. The bill calls for mental health resource information and hotlines to be printed on all student ID cards issued by US higher education institutions.

Transact, integrated campus payment, ID and commerce solutions provider, has extended a call for its Distinction Awards nominations, as well as presentation proposals for the Transact 360 Annual User Conference due to take place virtually March 15-17, 2021. New this year, accepted presenters may direct a $500 contribution from Transact to their university in support of either a scholarship or student food insecurity fund.

Allegion’s business development manager of campus software partners, Jeff Koziol, discusses the trends he and Allegion are prepping for in 2021 and beyond. With an optimistic viewpoint that examines lessons learned over the past year, Koziol highlights some ways campuses can prep for the year ahead with the goal of evolving to create better, safer campuses for students, faculty and staff.

Trusted identities, payments and data protection provider, Entrust, has launched a virtual reality app to showcase its latest card printer, the Sigma, for anyone interested in checking out the new features. In a time when showcases on a trade show floor aren’t possible, Entrust has found an innovative way to let users get hands on with the new printer from anywhere.

With the number of universities issuing mag stripe or 125 kHz prox credentials still alarmingly high, it’s worth taking the time to discuss the options available to campuses as they plot moves to more advanced, secure student credentials. To better frame the issue, CR80News caught up with CBORD’s Read Winkelman and Larry Delaney to discuss some actionable steps that campuses can take.