GYSC - ISIC France

Name

GYSC - ISIC France

Legal name

GLOBAL YOUTH AND STUDENT COMMUNITY (GYSC)

Website

https://gysc.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Campus Card Management Services

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Travel Passes, ID Cards & Local Discount Programs (EDAIANAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Campus / Student ID & Closed-Loop Stored Value (FSAMANAH), Card Issuing & Program Management Platforms (BPAMAFAH)

Keywords

• Student identity cards
• Campus card management
• Access control integration
• European student card
• Digital student IDs

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Card Issuance Services: GYSC issues physical and digital cards on behalf of educational institutions and grandes écoles. Card production is outsourced without volume limits, with delivery within a maximum of 72 working hours. Revenue is generated per card issued, with no printer or consumable costs charged to clients.
2. IsiPortal SaaS Platform Subscription: IsiPortal is a 100% web-based secured SaaS platform available 24/7 for card lifecycle management. Institutions subscribe to access the platform for managing orders, stocks, user databases, and integrations with campus systems. Revenue is derived from platform access/licensing fees.
3. Professional and Student Card Licensing (ISIC / ITIC): GYSC holds the exclusive franchise for ISIC (International Student Identity Card) in France and issues the ITIC (International Teacher Identity Card). These cards carry internationally recognised status and associated discount programmes, generating licensing and issuance fees.
4. Consulting and Advisory Services: GYSC provides advisory services on graphic design (visual creation aligned with client brand guidelines), technology selection (RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, QR Codes, access control), and ecosystem/prestataire selection via their marketplace. These professional services complement the core card issuance and management offering.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

GYSC designs, issues, and manages physical and digital identification and benefit cards — including ISIC student cards, ITIC teacher cards, European Student Cards (ESC), Carte d'Étudiant des Métiers (CEM), and fully custom multi-service cards — for educational institutions and grandes écoles. The offering is anchored by IsiPortal, a proprietary 100% web-based SaaS platform for end-to-end card lifecycle management (ordering, inventory, database, issuance) that natively integrates with campus access control, dining, library, attendance, and student information systems. Physical card production is outsourced to French industrial partners with a 72-hour delivery SLA, while clients manage everything via the platform without owning printers or consumables.

Product overview

GYSC operates as a card management solutions provider with a platform-plus-services model. The core platform is IsiPortal, a 100% web-based SaaS portal that manages the complete lifecycle of physical and digital student and professional ID cards. Around this platform, GYSC offers multiple card product lines: ISIC (International Student Identity Card, the flagship internationally recognized student ID), ESC (European Student Card standard), CEM (Carte d'Etudiant des Métiers for apprentices), ITIC (International Teacher Identity Card), and fully custom institutional cards. Card formats span both physical (PVC with RFID, magnetic stripe, hybrid chip options) and digital (mobile on iOS/Android). GYSC also provides outsourced card issuance services with 72-hour delivery, graphic design services, and technology consulting for card technology selection and ecosystem integration. The IsiPortal platform integrates natively with multiple third-party access control systems (SALTO, ARD, Exivo/Axis, NEDAP AEOS), campus systems (IZLY, Uni'Campus), and offers a REST API for data imports/exports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITIC: International Teacher Identity Card - recognition card for teachers and professors worldwide, recognized by UNESCO, offering benefits and discounts for educators.
• IsiPortal
• 2Enjoy
• ESC Academy Pro

Products and services

• IsiPortal A 100% web-based, secure SaaS portal for managing the complete card lifecycle (orders, stocks, databases) and issuing physical and/or digital cards for students, learners, staff, and professors. Automatically connects cardholders to campus systems including dining (CROUS Izly), library, ESC European identifiers, access control, and attendance tracking. Hosted on Microsoft Azure, GDPR-compliant, with REST API and SFTP for data exchange.
• Physical Student Cards Customisable PVC format physical cards (8.56cm x 5.4cm) with offset printing recto/verso, full colour or black-and-white options, and lamination. Embed RFID, magnetic stripe, QR codes, or hybrid dual-frequency chips for access control and secure identifier transmission. Manufactured by French-based industrial partners.
• Digital Student Cards Digital card format for iOS and Android mobile devices, displaying the same front and back graphical characteristics as physical cards, with optional QR codes and barcodes for identification. Each issuance triggers an email to the cardholder to load the card onto their smartphone.
• ISIC Card (International Student Identity Card) Internationally recognised student identity card issued by GYSC as the exclusive French representative of the ISIC norm. Present in 130+ countries, providing access to 150,000+ discounts and services worldwide, with 5M+ global cardholders (330,000 in France).
• Carte CEM (Carte d'Étudiant des Métiers) Student of Trades Card issued to apprentices under 26 by their training institution, mandated by the French Ministry of Labour, allowing apprentices to demonstrate their status nationwide.
• European Student Card (ESC) European identification standard adding holographic logo, QR code, and European student number to existing student cards, enabling cross-border verification and digital passport capabilities across European higher education institutions.
• ITIC Card (International Teacher Identity Card) International Teacher Identity Card recognising teacher/professor status worldwide, recognised by UNESCO, providing access to teacher benefits including travel insurance and museum discounts, and in France accessing the 2ENJOY advantage programme.
• Custom Cards (Cartes sur-mesure) Fully customised multi-service cards for institutions covering staff, visitors, contractors, and other populations, with design, technology selection, and production managed from concept through delivery.
• Card Issuance Services (Sous-traitance) Outsourced card printing and personalisation service with no volume limits, delivering cards within 72 working hours including shipping. Eliminates the need for clients to purchase printers, consumables, or manage maintenance, installation, training, or stock management. Multi-site delivery available on demand.
• Consulting Services (Conseils) Advisory services covering graphic design for card visuals aligned with brand guidelines, technology selection (RFID, NFC, Bluetooth, QR codes) for physical and mobile identification, and guidance on ecosystem and marketplace partners for access control, ERP, attendance tracking, dining, and payment systems.

Quantifiable outcome

• 500 grandes écoles and university clients served across France
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers27 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.

• SALTO SystemscoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration between IsiPortal and SALTO access control. IsiPortal creates users and their associated rights in the SALTO interface, with the ability to delete or suspend user rights directly from the platform.
• ARD AccesscoreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration enabling IsiPortal to create users and manage associated rights within the ARD Access interface, including suspension and deletion capabilities.
• Dormakaba (Exivo)coreTechnology or IntegrationIsiPortal integrates natively with Dormakaba's Exivo access control platform, enabling user creation, rights management, and account suspension/deletion directly from IsiPortal.
• Axis Communications (Entry Manager)coreTechnology or IntegrationNative integration between IsiPortal and Axis Entry Manager access control system. Supports user creation, rights management, and account suspension/deletion.
• NEDAP (AEOS)coreTechnology or IntegrationIsiPortal provides native integration with Nedap's AEOS access control platform, enabling bidirectional user and rights management.
• CROUS (Izly)coreTechnology or IntegrationAutomatic creation of IZLY accounts, account updates, and linking of an active IZLY account to an issued card. This integration connects student cards to the French national campus dining payment system operated by CROUS.
• ESC RoutercoreTechnology or IntegrationIsiPortal integrates with the ESC (European Student Card) Router to create ESI and ESCN identifiers and retrieve data for printing ESC-norm-compliant cards.
• AimairacoreTechnology or IntegrationCard order creation directly from the Aimaira interface within IsiPortal, with return of card information for data synchronisation.
• AppschocoreTechnology or IntegrationIsiPortal integrates with Appscho to display digital student cards and associated benefits within the Appscho mobile applications.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationGYSC leverages Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure to host and operate the IsiPortal SaaS platform, ensuring 24/7 availability and security compliance.
• ISICflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerGYSC is the exclusive representative of the ISIC (International Student Identity Card) norm in France. This is a flagship franchise/partnership granting GYSC the right to issue ISIC cards and extend the European ESC norm, connecting 5M+ card holders globally across 130+ countries.
• UNESCOflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ISIC card has been recognised by UNESCO since 1968 as the international standard for student identity verification, and the ITIC card for teachers is also recognised by UNESCO.
• SpringCardcoreTechnology or IntegrationSpringCard provides RFID and smart card reading/writing hardware technology integrated into GYSC's card issuance and management ecosystem.
• HID GlobalcoreTechnology or IntegrationHID Global supplies RFID card technologies (including MIFARE DESFire, Ultralight, Classic) used in GYSC-issued physical cards for campus access control and identification.
• ISIC Assur (Kinousassur)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerInsurance partner offering travel and other insurance products to ISIC card holders as part of the student card benefit programme.
• 2ENJOYminorGTM or Marketing Partner2ENJOY is a discount programme accessible to ITIC (teacher) card holders in France, offering reductions on travel, sports, cinema, culture, and shopping. GYSC facilitates this programme for ITIC card holders.
• TNTminorOthersLogistics and delivery partner for multi-site card distribution.
• La PosteminorOthersFrench national postal service partner for card delivery and distribution services.
• ToutesMesAidesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with ToutesMesAides, a French student aid information platform, to extend information and services to card holders.
• BlackCardminorOthersPartner card programme referenced in GYSC's ecosystem of card and service offerings.
• SwapminorOthersPartner referenced in GYSC's ecosystem providing additional card-related services.
• Story ProtectionminorOthersPartner offering protection and insurance-related services integrated with GYSC's card ecosystem.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Evolis: French-headquartered card printer manufacturer serving education, corporate, and government markets. Comparable in the physical card production layer that GYSC manages through outsourced industrial partners in France.

Broad incumbents

• Dormakaba: Global access control and secure entry solutions provider whose Exivo platform is integrated with IsiPortal. Broad incumbent in physical security with overlapping campus card deployments.
• Thales (Digital Identity & Security): Through the former Gemalto, Thales is a major issuer of secure identity credentials including student cards across multiple European markets. Competes with GYSC for institutional secure-ID and campus card mandates at scale.
• Entrust Datacard: Provides card issuance hardware, software, and managed services for financial, government, and education ID programmes. Competes with GYSC's outsourced card issuance service at the platform and services layer.
• HID Global (Assa Abloy): Global leader in secure identity solutions and a GYSC hardware/technology partner (supplies MIFARE DESFire, Ultralight, Classic RFID chips). Offers broad secure-ID, card issuance, and credential management across enterprise, government, and education — a far larger incumbent in adjacent spaces.
• Identiv: Provides physical security and secure identity solutions including RFID/NFC credentials and card issuance. Overlaps with GYSC's physical card technology stack and access-control integration ecosystem.

Regional players

• Campus Card International: Specialist provider of campus card solutions across multiple European markets. Comparable as a regional peer competing for the same European higher-education card mandate category outside France.

Direct peers

• CGS Italia (Viajoven): Wholly-owned sister entity of GYSC that operates the ISIC franchise in Italy and Spain. Identical business model — exclusive ISIC national franchise, card issuance, and SaaS platform — and is directly comparable as the regional peer in adjacent European markets.

Others

• Nedap: Provider of AEOS access control platform — natively integrated with IsiPortal. Comparable as a partner/ecosystem peer shaping the access-control integration layer GYSC monetises.
• SALTO Systems: Access control platform natively integrated with IsiPortal. Comparable as ecosystem/technology partner rather than direct competitor — co-shapes GYSC's value proposition for campus clients.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gysc-isic-france

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GYSC - ISIC France