Regulatory News:

XIRING (Paris:ALXIR), a security solutions provider for remote transactions, today announces the results of a consumer survey1conducted by Maximiles, on the security of online banking and e-commerce payments in France. As the first Vericode® devices designed for online banking transactions using Home Chip and PIN technology, are deployed in France, this survey provides useful insights for French banks, who are seeking to strengthen the security of their online banking services and e-commerce payments.

XIRING, Europe's leading provider of strong authentication solutions using bank cards, conducted an online survey of 502 users of e-banking services in France, from the Maximiles access panel. The survey focussed on usage, the perception of security and the expectations of online banking and e-commerce users. The survey was similar to one conducted in the United Kingdom in October 2008 and the results confirmed and identified a number of trends.

A clear preference for online banking services

86% of respondents stated that they prefer interacting with their bank via the internet as opposed to going to their local branch or making a phone call. This figure confirms the trend in user behaviour, as more and more households in France have broadband internet connection. This preference is even more pronounced in France (86%) than in the United Kingdom (73%).

Online banking services are used mainly from home on a private PC (90% of those questioned). 10% said that they use online services from work on their work PC more often than at home.

A clear demand for security

Security is fundamental to generating trust in online banking services, and users clearly expressed a need for stronger security. 43% of respondents felt that threats have increased since they started using online banking services, compared with 62% in the UK. 22% of French users would be prepared to use online banking services more if they felt more secure.

As far as e-commerce is concerned, 58% of the participants felt that e-commerce payments are less secure than online banking services.

Payment security: driving the growth of e-commerce

The rise in broadband internet connections has acted as a springboard for the strong growth of e-commerce. Better security should make a significant contribution to even greater growth. 23% of respondents would shop more online if security were improved. Better security would also encourage using online shopping services including those who have never shopped online, or have stopped shopping online because they do not feel secure.

Internet users prefer a hardware solution to secure online banking and e-commerce

Of the 60% of French consumers who prefer a dedicated hardware solution to secure their online banking and e-commerce payments, half opt for the Vericode solution based on Home Chip and PIN technology. This trend will facilitate consumer acceptance of the Vericode solution that uses the bank chip card to secure remote operations. 18% of respondents prefer systems that use a second password, while solutions that use a password sent to a mobile phone was the preferred option by only 10% of the participants.

The results of the survey conducted in France are almost identical to those in the UK last October, where more than 6 million individuals have already been equipped with a Home Chip and PIN solution equivalent to Vericode. Therefore, it can be assumed that consumers would accept the solution as readily as users in the UK, where the banks, who launched large-scale deployment programmes in 2007, claim that they have achieved their objectives.

Vericode and similar strong authentication solutions, based on the security built into MasterCard and Visa's EMV-CAP-compliant bank chip cards, have clearly emerged as the security standard for online banking and e-commerce in Europe. With 21 million solutions deployed in Europe by the end of 2008 (of which half were delivered by XIRING), banks are in the process of replacing static password solutions for banking transactions in Europe and deployment is continuing apace.

Laurent Maitre, XIRING's Marketing Director stated: ?The results of this consumer survey confirm both the need for greater security in the form of a dedicated device and trust in a solution that is based on Home Chip and PIN security. More and more banks in Europe are opting for Vericode solutions that comply with MasterCard and Visa's programmes in order to secure online banking and e-commerce payments. The example of the United Kingdom, where there are already some 7 million users, demonstrates that consumers are satisfied with this solution. The survey in France reveals similar expectations and behaviour to those found in the UK, a fact that bodes well for the same levels of satisfaction amongst French users, who will receive readers from their bank in the coming months.?


1 The survey was conducted by Maximiles Etudes in March 2009, 502 users of on-line banking services were questioned. A similar survey of 500 users in the UK was conducted in October 2008.


About XIRING
Created in 1998, XIRING is a security solutions provider and develops security software embedded in smart card readers for strong authentication and digital signature. XIRING has distributed over 10 million strong authentication solutions based on banking cards and compliant with MasterCard and Visa programs, and is the leader of the professional solutions market for the SESAM-Vitale French healthcare scheme. In 2008, XIRING posted a turnover of €28.5 million, up 20%, and an operating margin of €3.5 million, up 62%. XIRING has been listed on the Alternext compartment of the NYSE-Euronext Paris exchange since September 18, 2006. ISIN code: FR0004155612, Mnemonic: ALXIR.

More information:
http://www.xiring.com
http://www.remotecardauthentication.info
http://www.homechipandpin.co.uk

About MAXIMILES
Founded in 1999, MAXIMILES is Europe's leading provider of internet-based loyalty services.
The company runs multiple-brand loyalty programmes through Maximiles.com in France, Spain and Italy, and ipoints.co.uk in the United Kingdom, with a total of 5.5 million members and more than 110 partner trading sites. The company also operates more than 30 proprietary loyalty programmes. In 2008, Maximiles posted a turnover of €16.48 million.
With an online survey panel of almost 2 million European internet users in France, the UK, Spain and Italy, the Maximiles Surveys department gives research and marketing professionals access to a range of demographic groups for quantitative and qualitative on-line surveys.
MAXIMILES is listed in the Alternext compartment of Euronext Paris and has received the OSEO-ANVAR label for innovation.

ISIN code FR 0004174233 – MNEMO code. ALMAX

This new packaged offer also provides surveying and marketing professionals with a complete management solution for their on-line campaigns with a guarantee of a high quality, quick, effective and affordable service.

XIRING
Leslie JUNG
Tel: +33 (0)1 46 25 80 23
pressoffice@xiring.com
or
HOTWIRE UK
Louisa EXCELL
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7608 8350
Louisa.excell@hotwirepr.com
or
MAXIMILES
Marc BIDOU
Chairman and CEO
Tel: +33 (0)1 44 88 60 30
m.bidou@maximiles.com