Are businesses making the switch to contactless smart cards?

  • by Plastic Card Services
  • 17.04.2013
  • Articles

Technology is starting to play a key role in many modern businesses and as we continue to see developments and an increase in the integration of this into the workplace, we start to see businesses looking towards technology to make a smarter, safer workplace.

In recent years one of the biggest innovations that we have seen across the market is the introduction of contactless smart cards, and these have once again built upon the ideals of cost-cutting and efficiency throughout any business.

This type of smart card is designed for a wide application and can be used internally by businesses for security, or externally just as efficiently. In many countries this type of smart card is used to provide a high quality, effective approach to the public transport system as well as to aid many other public services, and has revolutionised the way in which these services operate.

What is a contactless smart card?

A contactless smart card is very similar to a regular smart card except that it contains a microchip and integrated circuits which are designed to transfer and receive information across radio waves. These cards are normally no bigger than the size of a traditional credit card and are designed to be compact and portable – they can generally fit into a wallet quite easily.

Contactless smart cards are designed to transfer information with simply a tap – and for many business who operate these directly correlate to a wall device which is designed to receive and send information to the card upon contact.

Why would a business choose to use this type of card?

As businesses continue to look for ways to improve their efficiency, improvements in technology are easily embraced and a contactless smart card has been quickly absorbed by many businesses. As the cards can be individually programmed they are able to be tailored to each individual staff member, granting them access rights to certain areas as needed.

In addition, for businesses who operate a transport system, this can be an effective method of reducing carbon emissions and allowing users to easily top-up and use their cards with a simple tap each time they enter or leave the public transport system.