Digital security company Gemalto has been selected to provide Europe's first smart banking cards featuring EMV technology, loyalty schemes and a contactless payment capability to customers of Turkey's Garanti Bank.

Gemalto has been a major card supplier for Garanati Bank since 2000 and has already provided it with several million of its multi-application smart cards with the EMV function. Following the success of the first deployment, under the agreement, Gemalto will now upgrade and supply EMV-enabled cards for Garanti’s BonusCard offering with the MasterCard PayPass functionality.

This functionality gives customers the option to use a more efficient and faster payment method when paying for goods, by simply tapping their card on the reader or within a few centimeters of a point-of-sale terminal.

Reha Emekli, vice president of Garanti Payment Systems, said: Gemalto’s extensive experience provides a reliable and cost-effective way to bring contactless solutions to our market. The possibility of any form factor necessary such as inlays, key fobs, wristwatches, including reader solutions, will help us differentiate ourselves in Turkey’s highly competitive payments market.