Similar trials of the combined two-factor authentication payment card technology from the Australian firm are also about to enter the beta test stages across Europe.

In Switzerland, Cornhr Bank is planning a trial, whilst in Italy, IW Bank is working on a similar test payment card system, and in Israel, Cal is also developing its own commercial trial, Infosecurity understands.

In the UK, around 500 staff with Deloitte are using their corporate Visa cards to act as a two-factor token when accessing the company's IT resources remotely.

The EMUE-developed card has a calculator-like 12-button keypad and LCD screen on the rear, where the signature and magnetic strip is located. Staff enter a PIN and are able to generate a one-time passcode which authenticates them across their VPN connection.

Visa Europe has been quietly promoting EMUE's technology - which was unveiled to the public in Australia last summer - as the "Visa PIN Card" to issuing banks.

Infosecurity notes that the EMUE card bears a passing similarity to the RSA's latest SecurID card token, which was also unveiled last summer.

The SecurID card does not feature a keypad, but returns a PIN to the display when a button on the card is pressed.

Like EMUE, RSA has been hoping to work with a payment card issuer to stage a commercial trial of its two-factor authentication card although, unlike the Australian company, RSA's card also be supplied as a two-factor authentication token in its own right.

The biggest issue with the card is cost, as whilst a typical smart payment card can be mass-produced for around 30 pence per card in volume, the EMUE card is thought to be as much as 10 times this cost on an ex-factory basis.

However, given that banks are also issuing two-factor authentication tokens to their e-banking customers, there appears to be a strong financial case for the integrated EMUE-style card, especially since the banks can market this as a premium product to their customers.