FT payphones EMV update.

Clamart, 1st of April 2011


interior payphoneKey words: payphones, maintenance, telecoms operator.
WHO : France Télécom
WHAT: EMV Standards update for analog PICs
WHEN : September 2008 – June 2009

 

 

Challenge :

Europay Mastercard Visa (EMV) has been the standard international bank security exchange protocol since 1995. The initial version of the specifications came out in 1996, benefiting from the integrated circuit card. In France, late 2006, the old national bank card system (CB) was abandoned for the standard EMV, involving the updating of all the user terminals using credit cards as a means of payment.

France Télécom payphones using credit cards as a means of payment since the late 1990s therefore needed to have their chip-card reader software and hardware updated. The various payphone stocks were successively updated through the years and the last one to be updated was the Card-operated payphone. Late 2007, France Télécom started to perform the EMV standards update of its payphones.

 

Solution :

The payphone standards update project involved the mechanical modification of a Duons EMV updated embedded smart card within a indoor payphone shell. The peripherals were reused with some occasional electronic modifications to ensure compatibility with the new smart card.

 

Project stages :

  • Design of the first prototype for mechanical checking,
  • Preliminary series of 10 smart card payphones for checking and one-month field testing,
  • Production of 2000 units.

 

Outcome:

This solution enabled France Télécom to generate income from these terminals and to satisfy its own clients.
Indeed, these 'interior' terminals are set up on private sites (shopping centers, petrol stations) which pay for these services. This project was therefore able to satisfy our client's clients!