Smart Cards

Paper ID documents may no longer provide adequate information to confirm an individual's indentity; consequently a new medium is necessary to provide sufficient information on every credential or ID card, to verify entitlements before granting access. With its electronic attributes - processing capabilities and ability to support multi-applications, store data, and handle updates - together with its physical attributes - durability and convenient size, the smart card - or chip card  - is the most suitable and cost effective technology available today for this new generation of IDs, commonly called electronic identification or eID.

Smart Cards involve an embedded micro module (chip) on a plastic substrate or card. They may be contact or contactless. In the case of contactless (RFID) smart cards, an on-board antenna supports the communication between the chip and a smart card reader. The chip’s internal power is derived from the reader’s signal.

Smart Cards are growing in popularity with both governments and individual citizens due to features such as:

• A smart card is personal and most of the time protected by a PIN code
• Smart cards allow complete mobility: you can store them in your wallet and keep them with you wherever you go.
• Smart cards are very secure: they embed cryptographic capabilities and store secret keys very safely

Zetes considers smart card/chip-based secure documents the more suitable technology for secure People Identification/Authentication applications. Zetes sees great opportunity for this technology in applications such as National ID cards, e-passports, e-driver’s licenses, e-health cards, voter’s cards, etc.

Zetes CardS offers a complete value chain, including the printing, manufacturing and personalisation of smart cards and secure ID documents, as well as the associated logistics services.