Smart Cards and Embedded Security Research Service

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  • Near Field Communications (NFC) (Executive Brief Available)

    Embedded and Aftermarket Contactless Applications for Mobile Devices and Other Consumer Products

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This Service Covers the Following Technology and Market Issues:

  • Smart Card and Smart Card IC Market Opportunities, Analysis, Forecasts and Valuations
    • Smart Cards/Chip Cards And Secure Memory and Microcontroller ICs
    • Access and Identity (e.g. Campus, Corporate, Membership), Government and Healthcare ID (e.g. Driving License, Healthcare, National ID, Passport), Leisure, Payment and Banking (e.g. ATM, Credit, Debit, Pre-paid), Pay TV / Conditional Access (e.g. STB, Mobile Device), Retail and Loyalty, SIM (e.g. CE Device, Dongle, M2M, Mobile, Module), Telecom / Payphone, Transportation
    • Contact, Contactless, Dual Interface
    • EEPROM, Crypto Co-processor
    • Regional Review and Forecasts for Latin America, North America, China, India, Rest of Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East
  • Embedded Security Emerging Markets and Developing Applications
    • Access, Anti-Counterfeiting, Authentication (e.g. Identity, People, Products), Brand Protection, Data Protection, Transaction Security
    • Encryption, PKI, Security Keys and Algorithms
  • Growth, Uptake and Deployment of Smart and Secure Contactless Products, Systems and Technologies
    • 2.4GHz, 13.56Mhz, FeliCa, ISO14443, Mi-Fare, NFC
    • Access, ID, Mobile, Payments, Transportation
  • Legacy and Traditional Solutions
    • Cards, Credentials and Documents
    • Holographic, Mag-stripe, Optical, Plastic, Secure Printing, Security Paper
  • Vendor Analysis
    • Smart Card Manufacturers, Secure IC Manufacturers, Contactless IC Manufacturers
    • Key players, Market Share, Value Chain, Strategic Opportunities and Threats

Perspectives

Smart cards are becoming increasingly prevalent in people's lives, as the need for identity security and authentication, and data protection, increases and is taken up in new markets and applications. Governments are implementing new programs for national ID and passports, as well as other applications, such as driving licenses, healthcare, mass transit and social welfare. At the same time businesses are increasingly utilising smart cards for physical access, logical access, and on-site payments, and EMV and chip and PIN cards issued by banks are becoming more widespread. Meanwhile, the largest application remains mobile, where SIM card shipments increase as mobile telephony and data consumption penetrate further into markets, with handsets being increasingly supplemented by M2M communication and connected consumer electronics devices.

At a top level, the smart card installed base continues to grow year-on-year, with more in circulation than there are people on the planet. In 2009, annual shipments reached 5.2 billion although overall growth was a little lower than has been traditionally recorded. The relationship between IC shipments and cards differed from its usual pattern in 2009. As a result of the market conditions within the supply chain and the depressed economic environment, the traditionally higher volume IC market was below that of smart card shipments. Both card manufacturers and issuers ran down their inventories as they assessed the impact of the credit crunch. Also, price pressures increased greatly as IC manufacturers looked to fill plant capacity and maintain orders. Combined, these factors saw the value of the market fall by more than was generally expected.

Increasingly now though, the suppliers are looking towards higher value technologies and applications. Contactless, microcontrollers with higher capacity and increased processing capabilities, and additional security are providing this extra value in the card-based markets. However beyond this, opportunities are opening up for embedded solutions and new applications, both in physical and on-line environments, and it is these which are offering great potential for future market growth.

ABI Research's Smart Card and Embedded Security Research Service covers the traditional card-based markets, tracking the growth and value of these and the developing applications. It provides data on the size of the installed base, the volume of shipments and the market values. Detailed reports on the primary applications are supported with focused reports on new and emerging sectors, product groups and technologies. The markets are broken down by region, product type, technology with additional coverage of the traditional, legacy markets and solutions as well. Regular estimates for the market shares of the leading vendors are also included.

Forecasts in this Service