Due to convenience and speed the contactless interface is gainig ground. Examples: ePassport, Paypass
Infineon Chips Ensure 22 Million Daily Contactless Transactions Run Smoothly for Seoul’s Public Transportation System
Munich – May 23, 2007 – Infineon Technologies, global market leader in integrated circuits (ICs) for chipcards, today announced that it has been supplying semiconductors to the T-money (Transportation money) project in the greater Seoul area of Korea. This is one of the largest projects worldwide for contactless applications in public transportation systems. Since the system launched in July 2004, the electronic tickets for the public transport network in the greater Seoul area have used Infineon semiconductors. Infineon’s security controllers ensure that travelers pay the right fare for bus, subway or taxi routes in the Korean capital, which account for nearly 22 million transactions a day. The security controllers can also be used for vending machines or coffee shops. Infineon has delivered ten million security controllers to Infotrust Inc. Korea. The system integrator is the partner of Korea Smart Card Co. (KSCC), the public transport operator in Seoul. Infotrust expects to deliver 14 million security chips by the end of 2008 based on the increasing commuter traffic and expansion of transport networks. (read more)
Infineon to Provide Contactless Chips for Select MasterCard Global Payment Schemes
Munich, Germany – February 9, 2007 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE/NYSE: IFX) today announced it has been providing contactless chips for one of the world’s largest contactless payment programs initiated by MasterCard Worldwide. Infineon supplies its highly-secure contactless smartcard microcontrollers to many of the MasterCard PayPass deployments in 13 countries worldwide, including Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia and the US. Designed to make payment transactions more convenient than actual cash, magnetic-stripe cards or conventional chip-based cards, the future debit and credit cards will contain a chip featuring a contactless interface and state-of-the-art cryptographic capabilities. (read more)