Dual interface and pure contactless smart cards will account for 16% of 2013 smart card shipments

ABI Research forecasts 8.6 billion smart cards will ship in 2013; a combined number spanning all smart card markets. Of total shipments, 16 percent are forecasted to use a contactless interface, rising to 30 percent in 2018. Government ID, transportation and ticketing, and payment cards continue strong double-digit growth in contactless adoption. SWP SIM card volumes continue to strengthen, and are expected to breech the 500 million mark in 2018.

Over the next three years ABI Research expects to see a shift in the penetration ratio of pure contactless and dual interface shipments. In 2013, ABI Research forecasts 59 percent of all contactless deployments will utilize a pure contactless interface, reducing to 38 percent in 2018. The increase in dual interface adoption is apparent across multiple markets. IC vendors NXP, Infineon, and STMicroelectronics are positioned to offer the best combination of convenience and high-end security over multiple applications. Additionally, the increase in dual interface adoption will deliver greater margins benefiting IC and smart card vendors alike.

Research analyst Phil Sealy comments, “The increase in contactless adoption is not limited to a selection of markets, although it’s the banking and government verticals which are adopting contactless technology at a quicker rate, with the SIM market close behind. ABI Research tracks new services and credentials regionally, including governments issuing new national ID and social welfare cards, MNOs with SIM-based NFC payment services and wallets, and banks jumping to next-generation dual interface EMV cards. As a result ABI Research forecasts that dual interface shipments will exceed the 1 billion mark in 2015.”

This Market Data report focuses on the collection of primary data from leading manufacturers of smart cards and secure ICs. The data includes the installed base and annual shipments of smart cards and secure ICs by technology and interface type, by region and vertical market.  It’s part of ABI Research’s Smart Card & Secure ICs Database.