Smart Card Alliance Announces New Certification Training for Payments Industry


SOURCE: The Smart Card Alliance
April 10, 2012 08:00 ET
Addition of Payments Certification to CSCIP Training Program
PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ--(Marketwire - Apr 10, 2012) - Industry professionals interested in supporting the U.S. move to EMV and NFC contactless mobile technologies can now earn the first certification dedicated to smart card-based payments -- the Smart Card Alliance Certified Smart Card Industry Professional/Payments (CSCIP/P) credential. The Alliance will hold its first instructor-led training course and exam for CSCIP/P in May at the NFC Solutions Summit 2012.
"The CSCIP/P training materials and exam fill a noticeable gap in education and information around the EMV migration and NFC and mobile payments adoption that have already begun in the United States," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "We have expanded our smart card training to include written documentation and classroom instruction on the role smart cards play in the rapidly changing financial payments, transportation payments, and mobile payments industries. This provides payments industry professionals a certification that demonstrates they have a proficiency in the latest technology and usage models for chip-enabled payments."
Part of the Alliance's Leadership, Education and Advancement Program (LEAP), CSCIP/P is an extension of the Certified Smart Card Industry Professional (CSCIP) designation. The body of industry knowledge covered by the CSCIP/P certification includes the same fundamentals as the CSCIP certification, and adds in-depth content on EMV migration, mobile and NFC contactless payments, secure remote transactions and smart card use in both card- and account-based transit payment systems.
Leading smart card industry professionals have developed the series of educational modules forming the CSCIP/P certification body of knowledge. These educational modules prepare applicants for the CSCIP/P exam administered by the Smart Card Alliance. The CSCIP/P certification exam will cover:
  • Smart Card Fundamentals
  • Smart Card Security Principles
  • Smart Card Application and Data Management
  • Smart Card Usage Models - Mobile and NFC
  • Smart Card Usage Models - Payments and Financial Transactions
  • Technology Comparison and Implementation Considerations
Information about the CSCIP/P certification is now available on the Smart Card Alliance website. The first instructor-led training course will be held at the NFC Solutions Summit on Monday, May 21st prior to the CSCIP/P exam on Wednesday, May 23rd. The Summit, held in partnership with the NFC Forum, will take place May 22 - 24, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport Hotel in Burlingame, California. For more information, visit the Smart Card Alliance LEAP website at http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-leap.
About LEAPLEAP is an individual membership option offered by the Smart Card Alliance open to all individual professionals working in the smart card industry in the United States and worldwide, regardless of whether their organization is a current member of the Smart Card Alliance. LEAP members have access to the following members-only benefits: the LEAP Web site containing a comprehensive library of educational materials such as Smart Card Alliance reports, white papers, videotaped workshops, past webinars recordings and conference presentations; a social networking site to meet and share information with other LEAP members; private webinars and briefings on relevant industry topics; special networking receptions; and discounts to events and services.
About CSCIPLEAP members can apply to be accepted into the Certified Smart Card Industry Professional (CSCIP) certification program. The program provides experienced smart card industry professionals a path to be accredited as a Certified Smart Card Industry Professional. The Smart Card Alliance has developed a comprehensive body of knowledge on smart card technology and applications that will prepare accepted candidates for the CSCIP Exam. The program is administered and reviewed annually for relevance and updates by the Smart Card Alliance Professional Development Committee, comprised of Leadership Council-level members and board members of the Smart Card Alliance Board of Directors.
Membership information and fees for LEAP and CSCIP are found athttp://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-leap. For more information, contact the Smart Card Alliance at 1-800-556-6828 or email the LEAP administrator atLEAPinfo@smartcardalliance.org.
About the Smart Card AllianceThe Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.
Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.