Smart Card

Smart cards are plastic cards embedded with an integrated circuit chip that stores and processes data while also acting as a security token. Normally around the same size as a traditional credit card, smart  cards can actually be credit or debit cards, but they can also be used for ID or entry passes, eCommerce transactions, medical records, and more. In the payments industry, smart cards are widely used for contactless payments.

Smart card chips can be used as either microcontrollers or memory storage, with the chip or processor holding information that a card terminal reads. The card’s processor – essentially a simple operating system – requires an outside power source, typically the terminal reader.

Through direct physical contact or using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), information from the card is transmitted through the reader to the end-use device. For example, in the case of an ID access card, the information would be passed to an electronic lock. For a credit purchase, data would be submitted directly to the bank for transaction authorization.

Convenient and popular, smart cards are designed to be tamper-resistant, protecting  stored data through unique encryption.