A plastic smart card is a standard-sized plastic card that contains integrated circuit chips for storing and processing data. There are four types of common smart cards: memory cards, encrypted memory cards, CPU cards and RF cards.
Types of Smart Card
Memory card is just a simple memory device without data processing. From this point of view it is very similar to magnetic strip card. The only difference is the memory capacity. There are also similar security risks with memory cards as the magnetic strip cards.
Encrypted memory card is the memory card added with the encryption logic. One of the applications of one-time encryption cards is the prepaid phone cards.
CPU card has processor and memory that does not only record information but also perform complex operations on the data. Since data encryption can be achieved, security is significantly improved and counterfeiting can be effectively prevented from credit cards and other applications requiring high security.
RF card has a radio frequency transceiver circuit added on the basis of the CPU card with the non-contact reading and writing processes.
Applications of Smart Card
Finance: Bank card
Telecom: SIM card, Stored Value card
Micropayment: E-wallet
Utilities: Flow meters combined with prepaid cards
Transportation: Bus card
Medical: Diagnosis card, Insurance card
In-house management: Access control card, Attendance card, Shopping card