DENVER, June 14, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Multicard, a leading supplier of credential solutions, identity management and system integration services and a business unit of Identive Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:INVE) (Frankfurt:INV), announced today it is implementing a new, secure identity card platform for the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC) Campus in Denver, Colorado. The new contactless smart cards initially will be utilized within the campus's existing door access system; students with a campus bank account can also use the IDs as a Visa® debit card. The new ID cards are based on open standards technology, allowing them to be integrated with additional applications for student services over time. Other applications planned for the cards include parking, meal payment, library check-out, event management and various tracking capabilities for lab and recreational center use as well as emergency incidents.
The AHEC Campus is a unique educational site located in the heart of the Denver Metro area, hosting three separate educational institutions: the Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State College of Denver and the University of Colorado-Denver. The campus serves over 45,000 students, faculty and staff on an annual basis. A number of shared services exist on the joint campus, including the central issuance of institution-specific identity cards to all students and faculty.
Multicard has provided the AHEC campus with card personalization systems for a number of years to provide physical access to campus facilities. "AHEC is pleased and satisfied with this upgrade; this project would have been very difficult to implement without the technical support provided to us by Multicard," said Shaqaiq Birashk of AHEC's ID Cards Office.
AHEC contracted with Multicard to upgrade the existing campus identification card system, so that they would have the option of encoding contactless smart cards for use alongside their existing magnetic stripe cards. Multicard began with developing secure encryption key technology for AHEC to prevent hacking attempts, and later upgraded the campus's existing printers to encode both smart card stock and magnetic stripe card stock, allowing the campus to migrate to chip-based ID cards over time.
"The Auraria campus is establishing best practices for campus environments in terms of implementing a multi-function contactless card," said Hugo Garcia, president of Multicard U.S. "By electing to utilize standards-based smart cards, they are benefitting from the highest level of encryption technology while avoiding the costs and inflexibility associated with proprietary card platforms."
About Multicard
Multicard, a business unit of Identive Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:INVE) (Frankfurt:INV), is a worldwide supplier of card solutions for secure identification programs, with in-house capabilities for credential issuance, personalization and fulfillment for the consumer, government, education, healthcare, smart community and corporate markets. Multicard offers a complete open payment platform, ID systems management and engineering services as well as full implementation and program management. Multicard also is a provider of enrollment, emergency management and accreditation solutions using government or corporate IDs. For additional information, visit www.multicard.com.
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Identive Group, Inc. is a leading provider of products, services and solutions for the identification, security and RFID industries. For more information, please visit www.identive-group.com.
The Identive Group, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=8072
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