Are the Smart Card Innovators Still Leading the Way?

France has long been the pioneer of smart card technology: from the patenting of the first microchip, to the pivotal 1976 launch of ‘la carte à puce’ – the smart card. Consequently, French banks were the first to launch the chip-based card in 1988 and, by 1993, all bank cards issued in the country were chip-based – four years ahead of the UK’s first smart card pilot programme. While a lot has changed since then, with the introduction of EMV and the continued adoption of the technology around the globe, the nation has maintained its position at the forefront of payments. Ahead of this month’s Paris Fintech Forum, can we expect the nation to take the lead again with the latest payment card innovation, the biometric contactless card?