Monéo and Modeus lay tracks for euro-smartcards

Two of the largest European electronic payment companies have merged to create a company dedicated to promoting smartcards for purchasing products priced in euros.

Monéo and Modeus will launch a subsidiary, with a market capital of FF50m (£4.7m), which will invest in providing between five to ten million smartcard machines to retailers in France for accepting small payments.

By 2002, Pierre Fersztand, director general at Monéo, said all French banks will accept the Monéo technology when paying for products such as train tickets or daily purchases including papers or food.

The project will run a pilot in Tours, followed by tests in Brest, Morlaix and Quimper before the end of the year.

The merger of Monéo and Modeus creates a company with a market capital of FF179m (£16.8m) and marginalises the efforts of Mondex - the remaining French electronic payment company.