Oberthur Technologies Finalises Its Acquisition of Cupola Plastic Cards

LEVALLOIS, France & DUBAI, United Arab Emirates--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oberthur Technologies, one of the world’s largest providers of security and identification solutions and services based on smart card technologies, today announced its acquisition of Cupola Plastic Cards which is based in Dubai.

“It will also enable us to improve our customer-service thanks to a large high-capacity personalisation bureau, with a full service package available to our joint customers.”

In joining forces, Oberthur Technologies and Cupola Plastic Cards will become the regional leader in the Middle East and secure a strong presence in a number of African markets. Oberthur Technologies is able to offer customers a very diverse portfolio of payment cards, including EMV cards such as SDA, DDA, CPA and Dual Interface cards for contactless payments, enabling customers to benefit from the experience of thousands of successful EMV migrations. The company also offers solutions such as the Smart PIN, where the customer receives his banking card PIN via SMS, which is particularly interesting in the Middle East as most private addresses are P.O. Boxes. In addition to this, Oberthur Technologies is also on the forefront of new innovative solutions in the mobile payment market with offers, such as the Visa and MasterCard certified comprehensive range of mobile commerce and financial service solutions including a secured mobile wallet infrastructure and an NFC end-to-end offer. These are of particular interest for Oberthur Technologies’ customers among financial institutions, mobile operators and transport companies.

“The acquisition of Cupola is a visible result of our focused growth strategy for RMEA, which demonstrates our commitment to the region. We complement each other very well and will be able to provide new and exciting products and services across an even wider geographical zone. The acquisition will enable us to present our solutions, such as NFC, to more customers in more countries across the Middle East and Africa,” said Thierry Siminger, Managing Director, Russia, Middle East, Africa at Oberthur Technologies. “It will also enable us to improve our customer-service thanks to a large high-capacity personalisation bureau, with a full service package available to our joint customers.”

“We are proud that our work at Cupola Plastic Cards and our results have encouraged Oberthur Technologies to acquire Cupola. It is a logical next step borne by our strategy of focusing on smart cards, personalisation and personalisation solutions. This acquisition will be advantageous for our customers, who will benefit from Oberthur Technologies’ wide knowledge and skills in the NFC and payment solutions combined with Cupola’s strong regional presence and track record,” said Kazim Awan, CEO of Cupola.

About Oberthur Technologies

Oberthur Technologies is a world leader in the field of secure technologies: systems development, solutions and services for smart cards (payment cards, SIM cards, access cards, NFC…) and for secure identity documents, traditional and electronic (identity card, passport, health care card). Created in 1984, Oberthur Technologies employs over 6 000 employees. With 50 sales offices across 5 continents, Oberthur Technologies’ international network serves clients in 140 countries.

For more information: www.oberthur.com

About Cupola Plastic Cards

Cupola Plastic Cards is a world class Visa and MasterCard certified smart card manufacturer and personalisation services provider, offering end-to-end solutions to a wide range of sectors, including financial services, telecommunications and retail. Since its formation in 1999, Cupola has been a major regional provider of financial products and services, loyalty programs and personalisation services and has established a sizable presence in GCC, Levant and Africa. Cupola’s purpose built facility in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, UAE has an annual production capacity of up to 300 million cards as well as proprietary personalisation capabilities.

For more information: www.cupolagroup.com