A joint venture between smart card provider Morpho and Colombian IT enterprise, Assenda, has boosted the migration of all Colombia bank cards to contain EMV chip technology. In 2008 the Colombian government passed a mandate that replaced all mag-stripe cards with smart card-based technology.

More than 15 Colombian banks have successfully migrated to the EMV chip while every financial institution in the country has at least begun the process. At this rate the time to complete the migration of all debit and credit cards in the country is estimated within the next four years.

Morpho and Assenda both have a strong presence in Latin America and have committed this last year to bringing the most competitive technology to Colombia in the most smooth transition possible. Morpho, part of the Safran Group and worldwide supplier of identity solutions, has been chosen as partner for 80% of all bank pilots in Colombia.

The business plan for implementation is said to include chip cards for MasterCard, Visa and Private Label, as well as an upgrade of Assenda’s personalization centers for the local personalization of EMV cards