Press Release

Please e-mail us your company's press releases for inclusion on DECTweb
Thank you

SAGEM and SMARTEL : Partnership in the payment terminal market - First order of 40,000 SAGEM GD 900s by SMARTEL, the Italian leading POS distributor

SAGEM and VERON s.p.a. (company of the SMARTEL group) announce their partnership in the field of electronic payment terminals in Italy. VERON, first Italian POS distributor with a 43% market share, has chosen to complete its catalogue with the new range of portable terminals of SAGEM, the GD 900 products. This agreement for a partnership will make them the main players in the development and marketing of payment systems products and on the smart cards market in Italy.

Combining the DECT and GSM technologies, the SAGEM GD 900 terminals will offer VERON’s customers user-friendly, truly mobile solutions : the DECT model for sedentary users, the GSM for itinerant merchants, as well as the combined DECT/GSM version.  The SAGEM GD 900 is a dual band terminal using either GSM 900 or DCS 1800, functioning on all GSM operators’ networks. The device features the typical functionality of a GSM phone, including SMS.

The SAGEM GD 900s innovative technology guarantees future evolutions in the field of electronic transactions. It is an hybrid magnetic and smart cards terminal, EMV level 1 approved. Powerful, the SAGEM GD 900 terminal is equipped with a 32-bit microprocessor and 3 MB of memory. Practical and easy to use, this payment terminal has a navigator for simplified access to the different functions, a currency converter and a built-in calculator.

The agreement also sets out the enlargement of the SAGEM-SMARTEL offer through the launch of an entry-level terminal manufactured by DNE, the Smartel Group partner based in Cosenza (Italy).  Launching by VERON of the GD 900 terminals in Italy is planned for May 2001.

About Sagem
Groupe SAGEM is an internationally based high-technology group which enjoyed consolidated sales of EUR 4.27 billion in 2000 (60% exports) and which employs 16,000 people. The second largest French group in the field of telecommunications and the third largest European company in electronics for defence and security, SAGEM is also one of the leaders in automotive electronics equipment. SAGEM maintains a presence in more than twenty countries

About Smartel
Smartel Group is a leading Italian supplier of POS terminals and smart cards enjoying the twenty year expertise of its subsidiary Veron, the company that introduced electronic payment technology in Italy. Smartel Group is also the sole independent provider of a wide range of services for electronic money handling such as credit scoring, payment card management - including Visa and Europay’s - , EBP&P, concentration and POS network management. 

For more information please contact:

Groupe SAGEM
Hervé PHILIPPE
VP, Chief Financial Officer
Tel. +33 1 40 70 62 57 
Fax. +33 1 40 70 62 15
E-mail: herve.philippe@sagem.com

SMARTEL Group
Sergio PIRAS
Managing Director
Tel. +39 02 48 21 52 01 
Fax + 39 02 48 21 52 16
Email: spiras@smartel.it