Contact smart card
Contact smart cards have a contact area, comprising several gold-plated contact pads, that is about 1cm square. When inserted into a reader, the chip makes contact with electrical connectors that can read information from the chip and write information back.
The ISO/IEC 7816 and ISO/IEC 7810 series of standards define.
- The physical shape
- The positions and shapes of the electrical connectors
- The electrical characteristics
- The communications protocols, that includes the format of the commands
- sent to the card and the responses returned by the card.
- Robustness of the card
- The functionality
- The cards do not contain batteries; energy is supplied by the card reader.
Electrical Signals Description
A smart card pinout
I/O: Input or Output for serial data to the integrated circuit inside the card.
VPP: Programming voltage input (optional use by the card).
GND : Ground (reference voltage).
CLK : Clocking or timing signal (optional use by the card).
RST : Either used itself (reset signal supplied from the interface device) or in combination with an internal reset control circuit (optional use by the card). If internal reset is implemented, the voltage supply on Vcc is mandatory.
VCC : Power supply input (optional use by the card).
NOTE - The use of the two remaining contacts will be defined in the appropriate application standards.
NOTE - The use of the two remaining contacts will be defined in the appropriate application standards.
Reader
Contact smart card readers are used as a communications medium between the smart card and a host, e.g. a computer, a point of sale terminal, or a mobile telephone.
Since the chips in the financial cards are the same as those used for mobile phone Subscriber Identity Module(SIM) cards, just programmed differently and embedded in a different shaped piece of PVC, the chip manufacturers are building to the more demanding GSM/3G standards. So, for instance, although EMV allows a chip card to draw 50mA from its terminal, cards are normally well inside the telephone industry's 6mA limit. This is allowing financial card terminals to become smaller and cheaper, and moves are afoot to equip every home PC with a card reader and software to make internet shopping more secure.
TYPES OF CARDS :
1) Memory cards
2) Secure cards
3) Cryptographic cards
4) Processor cards
5) Proximity cards
6) Contactless cards
7) Magnetic swipe cards
8) Laser cards