Safran Identity & Security has become the first EMV card maker to establish an office in Costa Rica.

In a statement announcing its new office, the company framed it in terms of an expansion of business operations in Central America. The company said its aim is to offer services to domestic and regional companies in the financial services and payments industries, to whom it would offer “innovative, high-security and EMV-based digital payment and biometric solutions.” These are areas in which Safran Identity & Security has demonstrated increasing interest, as demonstrated in its contactless biometric payment concept developed in collaboration with Visa.

The company evidently sees market opportunities for this kind of technology in Latin America, where it already has a strong presence. Safran has been active in the region since 1999 and now has facilities in Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and Mexico, as well as offices in Argentina. It operates via a Brazilian subsidiary.