Electronic transaction console designer Spectra Technologies pitched its card-reading devices to more than 350 Visa member banks attending a card conference in Macau last week.

Spectra was recently recognised for its work in electronic transaction applications when it won the Hong Kong Award for Industry in the consumer product design category.

The company, founded in 1993, claims to have 60 per cent of the market in Hong Kong.

"The major reason for the success is our Asia First strategy," Mark Max, business development manager for Spectra, said.

"All our products are designed with Asians' needs in mind.

"For example, the LCD display of our POS terminal, the S9000i, is the biggest in the market. This allows different Asian languages to be displayed clearly."

Mr Max said Spectra invested heavily in research and development efforts to integrate "back office" accounting systems.

"In the high growth Asian countries, total solution is a must for long-term success. We also focus on after-sales service and customised development service as well," he said.

"The S9000i can accept credit cards, debit cards, loyalty cards, electronic cards, medical cards and even the passbook. One successful implementation is in China for China Construction Bank in Guangzhou," Mr Max said.

The company has also built terminals that can accept both magnetic strip and smart cards that conform to Visa-MasterCard-Europay (VME) 2.0. All the core research and development is done in Hong Kong, with some of the modules developed in branch offices in China and Taiwan.

Mr Max says the company will look for ISO9000 certification next year as part of its future plans.

"The ISO9000 certification is an important step to strengthen our infrastructure. We will also continue to adopt the most advanced worldwide standard plus customised features for our Asian clients," he said.