Smart Cards

Smart cards are a more advanced form of ID card technology, which can store card data in a more secure format, as well as allow a single card to be used in multiple applications because of the memory chip which is embedded on the surface of the ID card. Just as a magnetic stripe ID card can hold significantly more information than a traditional barcode ID card can, smart cards can hold more information than prox cards!

Contact smart cards have a physical chip visible on the ID card surface, and this chip requires direct contact with a card reader in order to be read and authenticated. Contactless smart cards have their memory chip embedded within the plastic card and can communicate with card readers from a distance. Contactless smart cards don’t have to make physical contact with card readers in order to be read and authenticated!

The most typical configurations of contactless smart cards are similar to programmed proximity cards:

– 2k chip and 2 application areas
– 2k chip / 16 app areas
– 16k chip / 16 app areas
– Unprogrammed cards to be programmed onsite