Contactless technologies on the rise in smart cities

By 2020, more than 60% of payment transactions will use contactless technologies such as NFC. This development mostly affects commerce and the financial sector and becomes most obvious in transport ticketing. All over the globe, transport operators are striving to implement standardized contactless ticketing solutions that simplify commuters’ daily lives and save overall costs. Furthermore, transport ticketing schemes are increasingly being merged with other services such as micro-payment, identification, access or loyalty, all offered on a single device or application. With this trend some security challenges in regards to unauthorized access to banking accounts or customer credentials are expected. The migration to new chip technologies such as from magnetic to chip-based cards becomes essential as it is the most efficient way to prevent fraud.

Infineon offers a specialized array of chip solutions for contactless payment and multi-application in several form factors, including smart cards, smart phones or wearables. These security solutions stand out with optimized footprint and low power consumption. Data transmission can be done within a few milliseconds, are robust and below industry-average rates. Being an active member in all relevant standardization bodies and striving for open standards, Infineon’s chip solutions provide interoperability and certified security. They are compatible to international standards such as Common Criteria for computer security and EMVCo for card payment. Furthermore, all components are CIPURSE-ready or enable CIPURSE Mobile transactions. CIPURSE is an open standard defined by the OSPT Alliance for highly secure, interoperable, and flexible transit fare collection solutions.