Smart card technology preparing for commercial use

Dan Rogers - 13 Jul 2010

The manufacture of fully integrated, printed electronic displays for smart cards has been proven by partners GSI Technologies and Ntera.

Ntera's NanoChromics displays for enhanced card security and user interaction have been produced using inkjet technology by US printing firm GSI. The hot laminated, printed cards could be adopted by financial card printers without the need to adapt production techniques.

David Corr, CEO of Ntera, states: 'We have proven that the inks we supply and the printing process are robust, with GSI performing several runs of several hundreds of displays.'

The two companies will now begin to validate the technology by industry standards, says Corr.

'Now that we have qualified production, we will begin to get the cards verified to ISO standards. We are applying for ISO-level testing, and hope to complete this over the next 6-12 months,' he adds.

Financial security

Ntera supplies the technology for the six-digit, seven-segment display, the data chip and the device battery, which are integrated into a single card using an inkjet printing process. The card is then laminated, a process proven by an unnamed European partner of Ntera's.

Adding this technology to financial cards could help protect against fraud, as an added layer of authentication - particularly in response to the increasing usage of e-commerce, and the fraud risks associated with online purchases.

'A display on a card could present a one-time pass code for the user. This provides the ability to reduce card not present fraud and online fraud,' Corr explains.

A pass code could be sent to the user's card during the payment process, to ensure that the person buying online is in possession of the card at the time. This means that even stolen bank details would not be enough for somoene to make fraudulent online payments.

'One-time pass code technology is something that several card manufacturers have been trying to solve. It is only possible now because of the build-up of plastic electronics knowledge and its demonstration as a practical technology.'

The idea of enhancing card security with printed electronics has been investigated by a number of other developers. Schreiner Variolight presented anti-tamper e-payment cards in September 2009.

Cost

While the implementation of many technologies has been limited by production costs, Corr believes Ntera's technology will be in a position to compete immediately.

'Most of the solutions on the market are around or above $10 (€7.50), and we've been told by the companies we speak to and others in the industry that it needs to be below $5. We think it will be lower cost than all other technologies to start with, and should be able to get below $5,' he remarks.

This is because the NanoChromics technology requires fewer components that e-ink displays - which require a chip to control voltage levels - and LCD displays, for instance.

Corr adds: 'We have simplified the components, so we will be able to compete extremely well, and will achieve much lower costs.'

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