Universal Smart Cards and Safetrust collaborate to deliver vendor-independent, Aliro-certified physical cards for enterprise deployments.

SAN DIEGO, CA — June 9, 2026 — Universal Smart Cards Inc., a leader in secure credential manufacturing & supply, today announced a new strategic partnership with Safetrust Inc. aimed at accelerating the market availability of Aliro-certified physical credentials. This joint effort ensures commercial enterprises have immediate access to a resilient, single-source-independent supply of physical Aliro cards that interface seamlessly with any Aliro-compliant reader and the Safetrust Credential Manager platform.

As organizations prepare to transition to the Aliro standard, a primary operational hurdle has been sourcing high-quality physical cards that can bridge the gap between legacy access control systems and modern mobile deployments. This partnership resolves that bottleneck directly.

Transitioning to Aliro: The Open Standard for Physical Access

Developed by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), Aliro establishes a unified, certificate-based protocol for secure access. By decoupling physical and mobile credentials from proprietary silicon and hardware lock-in, Aliro enables mutual authentication across a wide variety of hardware - including perimeter doors, lockers, and wireless locks - managed via a unified architecture.

Strategic Advantages for Enterprise Migrations

  • Eliminating Single-Vendor Lock-In: Organizations gain a secure, reliable supply chain for physical credentials without relying on proprietary silicon vendors.

  • Hybrid Credential Support: Combining Aliro with legacy formats (such as MIFARE DESFire) allows for gradual, phased upgrades.

  • Cross-Hardware Interoperability: Certified credentials operate flawlessly across all Aliro-compliant reader hardware, regardless of the manufacturer.

  • Automated Certificate Lifecycle Support: Integrates directly with Safetrust Credential Manager for secure issuance, over-the-air updates, and revocations.

"Safetrust has been at the center of the Aliro ecosystem, from demonstrating the first enterprise Aliro card and mobile platform at ISC West to driving real interoperability across vendors. Partnering with them gives our customers a clear path to certified Aliro credentials backed by a platform that handles certificate lifecycle management, reader provisioning, and federated trust. We've spent decades helping customers migrate and upgrade with our multi-credential card solutions. Now we can help them to move forward — on an open standard where they, not their vendors, hold the keys." — Graham Gillot, Vice President of Sales, Universal Smart Cards Inc.

"One of the first questions we hear from enterprise customers ready to move to Aliro is: 'Where do we get the cards and how do we transition from legacy credentials?' This partnership answers that directly. Universal Smart Cards brings 25 years of credential manufacturing, including crossover support for most legacy proprietary technologies, so customers can migrate at their own pace, moving from vendor lock-in to an open standard where they control the keys." — Catherine Carducci, Product Manager, Aliro, Safetrust Inc.

This collaborative rollout builds upon Safetrust's recent live demonstrations of the industry's inaugural Aliro Enterprise card and mobile environment at ISC West.

Upcoming Aliro Educational Events

  • Webinar: Aliro Decoded (June 10, 2026 | 11:00 AM PT / 2:00 PM ET): Join Safetrust CTO Jason Hart and VP of Advanced Systems Will Holderness for a deep dive into deployment architectures and practical migration pathways. [Register here].

  • Panel Discussion: CSA Unify (June 17, 2026 | 3:45 PM CT | Austin, TX): Safetrust’s Jason Hart will sit down with representatives from the Aliro working group, dormakaba, Allegion, and SIA SPARC to discuss "Commercial Aliro: Why Now, What It Unlocks, and What Has to Be Done." [Register here].

About Universal Smart Cards Inc.

Universal Smart Cards Inc. is a leading manufacturer and supplier of smart card solutions for enterprise, government, and institutional markets. With expertise spanning card manufacturing, personalization, and secure credential supply, Universal Smart Cards partners with identity platform providers to deliver certified, high-quality physical credentials at scale.

About Safetrust

Safetrust is a global leader in secure identity and access technology, delivering mobile credentialing, cloud-based identity orchestration, and advanced security solutions for enterprise and government customers worldwide. Through open architecture and standards-based design, Safetrust enables trusted identity experiences across physical and digital environments. For more information, visit safetrust.com.

Media Contacts

Universal Smart Cards Inc. Chris Hall Marketing [email protected] +1 800 810-4959

Safetrust Inc. Brooke Grigsby [email protected] +1 214 960-1705 ext 110

Aliro is a trademark of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA). MIFARE® and DESFire® are registered trademarks of NXP Semiconductors. HID®, iCLASS®, and SEOS® are registered trademarks of HID Global. LEAF® Verified is a trademark of Wavelynx Technologies. All other product names, trademarks, and company names referenced are the property of their respective owners.