Blackboard Commerce Suite To Integrate FeliCa Technology

Education technology developer Blackboard has partnered with Sony to deliver support for Sony's smart card technology in its Blackboard Commerce Suite for use with campus ID cards.

The terms of the deal call for Blackboard to support the FeliCa contactless IC card technology from Sony. (For those of you who are not hep to the jargon of the contactless IC card industry, a contactless IC card is type of smart card with integrated circuits that uses radio frequency to communicate with card readers and, in this case, card writers as well, allowing data stored in the card itself to be updated.) This will allow students to use a single card for payments, ID, security access, and various other transactions.

“Our collaboration will help improve the daily life of students, staff, and faculty with the benefits of FeliCa contactless technology as it allows educational institutions to combine multiple applications including student identification, access control, and payment onto a single card,” said Sony's Hiromasa Otsuka, who heads up the FeliCa Division.

FeliCa technology is currently used in about 250 million cards and mobile phones.

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About the Author

David Nagel is the former editorial director of 1105 Media's Education Group and editor-in-chief of THE Journal, STEAM Universe, and Spaces4Learning. A 30-year publishing veteran, Nagel has led or contributed to dozens of technology, art, marketing, media, and business publications.

He can be reached at [email protected]. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrnagel/ .


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