What is a Contactless Smart Card?

A contactless smart card is a plastic card that has a chip with an embedded radiofrequency identification (RFID) microprocessor. This enables the card to operate by bringing it within close proximity to an interrogator, such as a reader in a transit venue.

The strong security features of smart cards make them ideal guardians of personal privacy. These features include:

Affordability

Smart cards provide a high level of security and a cost-efficient way to process data. They are more durable and dependable than magnetic stripe tickets, resulting in reduced maintenance costs for point-of-sale terminals. Additionally, they can be loaded with multiple applications, reducing the need for a separate wallet or cards.

A contactless smart card uses a chip to communicate with a card reader through radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. The chip transmits an encrypted signal that is picked up by a card reader antenna. The card then processes the signal to complete a transaction. These chips can be embedded in many kinds of products, including smartphones, key fobs, vehicles, and even people.

Unlike traditional magnetic stripe credit cards, contactless credit cards don’t require a signature. While this can make them more attractive to thieves, there are ways to protect your information and avoid fraudulent transactions. First, keep your card safe by only using it in safe environments. Second, check your bank account frequently. Your bank’s fraud departments can flag fraudulent charges quickly and help you prevent them from occurring.

Using a contactless credit card can also save time in transit venues, as customers don’t have to take their cards out of their pockets or wait for their turn at a POS terminal. The convenience of tapping to pay also increases customer satisfaction, which is especially important during busy times. Additionally, it allows businesses to process more payments during peak sales periods without having to hire extra staff.

Security

A smart card is a form of electronic ID token that includes an embedded integrated circuit chip. These chips can be either microcontrollers with internal memory or secure, read-only, contactless RFID transponders that communicate with a reader via near field communication (NFC). Smart cards also have the ability to carry out their own on-card functions, including data storage and management, encryption and smart card digital signature calculations. These features make smart cards extremely difficult to forge or duplicate and provide a high level of information and communications security.

Unlike magnetic stripe cards, which have no processing capability, smart cards can be authenticated by using a secure key and a PIN to verify the identity of the user. They can also be locked, which prevents unauthorized usage or access to sensitive information. They can be used to provide a range of services, from financial transactions to public transport tickets, and can store multiple applications at once.

Because of their security features, smart cards are often the preferred option for many applications. They are difficult to duplicate or forge and have built-in tamper resistance. Additionally, they can be updated with new software and applications through secure channels, reducing the need to replace the entire card. Smart cards are also an excellent choice for integrating virtual and physical environments, as they can be used to securely connect devices and services.

Interoperability

Unlike magnetic stripe cards or other technologies that use open, unsecured numbers for identification and processing, smart card microprocessors exchange data with card readers via direct contact or short-range wireless communications standards. A contactless smart card, fob or NFC-enabled mobile device is presented in proximity — less than an inch away — to a reader that transmits the data via wireless communication to the merchant terminal.

Contactless smart cards support multiple applications, including debit and credit, stored value, and biometric authentication. This multi-purpose nature allows organizations to reduce the number of different card products they need to purchase smart card and issue. The technology also promotes a more efficient, secure and flexible way to perform business transactions that previously required manual or paper-based procedures.

The smart card microprocessors on contactless smart cards also contain advanced security features that ensure the integrity of the card’s data. These include “mutual authentication” and other methods of ensuring that the reader and card can communicate using hashed, encrypted messages without broadcasting a shared secret key. This provides enhanced transmission security that is not possible with mag stripe or proximity card technology.

The ability of smart cards to store data in a secure environment is an advantage for systems that require strong information privacy. This capability supports the implementation of a personal firewall for each card or device, limiting access to specific information on a limited basis to authorized users.

Privacy

Smart card technology provides a number of mechanisms for protecting privacy. For example, smart cards can use cryptographic capabilities to ensure only those with access rights are allowed to read or write data on the chip. This helps to prevent sensitive information from being viewed by unauthorized parties or used to commit fraud, such as when a credit card transaction is conducted online.

Smart cards can also be designed with dual interfaces, allowing them to be read by either contact or non-contact methods. The contacts are usually metal pads that connect to the microprocessor, and the non-contact interface is radio frequency identification, or RFID, which uses a wireless transmission protocol to communicate with the card reader. In most cases, the air-interface communications are encrypted to prevent eavesdropping or tampering.

In addition, many contactless smart card technologies can provide mutual authentication, which allows the card to prove its authenticity to a reader before beginning a transaction. This can help to minimize the risk of a security breach that might result in confidential patient information being accessed by unauthorized individuals.

Breaches of physical security and unauthorized access to private patient information are serious problems for health care facilities. Deliberate procedures need to be put in place to audit and report the occurrence of these breaches. Using a contactless smart card to authenticate users can improve security and reduce the need for help-desk calls to reset passwords in the event that an employee forgets theirs.