Founded in 2006, Business Cards Associated (BCA) has established itself as a leader in smart card technology and is a key player in the French digital identity ecosystem.

Over recent years, the company has invested heavily in research and development, developing both a smart card reader for mobile environments and an associated platform for handling digital signatures. The new platform, currently in beta testing, offers an easy-to-use solution for emails and smartphones to process quotes, orders, invoices, contracts, and more.

A key point of differentiation for the platform is that it can handle both Advanced Electronic Signatures which are secure tamper-proof solutions and Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES), which are legally equivalent to a handwritten signature. But, as BCA founder and CEO Christophe Cianchi explains, this twin solution is only possible through effective partnership with another provider: “We have many years of experience with Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES), and they represent one of the core competencies of BCA. Advanced Electronic Signatures, however, are a relatively new domain for us. We therefore took the decision to outsource the platform’s Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) capabilities to a third-party specialist.”

The challenge for Christophe and his team was to find a provider with the right technology, the right terms, and the right cultural fit.

BCA first identified Nitro as an ideal AES partner at the beginning of their product development process back in 2018. Christophe explains: “Cultural fit is very important for us, and, right from the start, we had a great connection with Nitro’s sales team. We also felt that this was a company and product we could trust. Not only do they have all the right certifications, including eIDAS (EU) and Zerts (Switzerland), but they also have proven experience as an AES provider.”

The partnership has remained strong throughout the intervening six years. BCA and Nitro have been working together to finetune the technical integration, and now, excitingly, the platform is ready to launch.

“The beauty of the solution lies in its simplicity,” says Christophe. “No complex workflow configurations are required. The platform makes signing digital contracts as easy as sending emails. It also enables small businesses to create their own signing agreements with customers who are not equipped with smart card technology. The business signs the document using QES. The customer can then use AES to add their signature, thus completing the agreement. In this way, Nitro’s AES capabilities form a crucial part of our solution and of our unique customer offer.”

French accountants are the first major customer group BCA plans to target but the global strategy relies on the planned e-invoicing for companies that should start early 2026 in France. And from there? “In the long term, we are looking to build relationships across Europe,” Christophe says. “And if we are successful in Europe, then why not the US as well? With the right partner, anything is possible.”