Gap between Smart Cards in Mobile Phones, USB Devices, Booklets, and Other Forms Narrows Steadily in the Asia Pacific Smart Cards Market

At present, smart card integrated circuits are available in various forms besides the standard plastic cards. The USB smart card and the mobile near field communication (NFC), in particular, offer enormous potential. In South Korea and Japan, NFC mobile handsets have made rapid strides, while smart card manufacturing giants are poised to unleash smart card USB devices. Other forms are gradually picking up steam and may become prevalent in the near future, while some form factors have emerged as ideal solutions in certain niche markets. Currently, government ID projects are by far the largest users of contactless cards and will remain so for the next five years as more nations migrate to the contactless interface. As e-Passports have to be renewed, typically, every five to ten years, the market is expected to continue its upward growth trajectory. "The world is already prepared to roll out NFC commercial projects with a small number of commercial projects having already begun and more than 200 pilot projects already completed across the globe," notes the analyst of this research service. "In the Asia-Pacific, large-scale mobile NFC deployments are expected within the next one to two years." NFC on mobile devices will also prompt renewed interest in contactless bank credit and debit cards, with security issues having been ironed out. Smart cards within booklets, such as e-Passports, have been well accepted worldwide and endorsed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under the United Nations (UN) as well as the United States and European Union. Other upcoming form factors with multiple implementations already in place are the smart card token typically used in mass transit ticketing as well as the smart card USB memory device.

Although the prospects for the smart cards market look upbeat, there are some challenges stalling its momentum. Market penetration for new form factors will not be easily achieved, as they have to deal with several challenges surrounding cost, culture, and infrastructure. While some countries are prepared to address these issues and initiate implementations, some others may take a lot longer, especially since new technology typically takes time to gain traction. Despite the fact that smart card technology embedded tokens, USB devices as well as watches and wristbands have been around for some time, they are yet to experience significant sales spikes. It will take time to find a proper niche, and concerted efforts on the part of stakeholders will be required to pull through in order to bring about a competitive value proposition to end users.

In such a scenario, market pioneers will gain the most with their first-mover advantage. Companies should recognize and accept the need to create strategic alliances and partnerships to enable easier entry to the market, cater to underserved markets, and ensure optimal penetration in current ones. The ever present need for integration of the different uses of smart cards coupled with the potential that smart cards hold is creating a need to leverage this technology. By deploying existing technology to tap into the security, capacity, and versatility of smart cards, certain form factors may well help utilize dormant features in the standard plastic card.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Introduction                               

                     Background                     

                     Definitions                          

                     The Contactless Smart Card         

                     Contact and Contactless Smart Cards 

      Market Drivers and Restraints                      

                     Market Drivers                     

                     Market Restraints                   

       Exploring Various Form Factors                     

                    APAC Smart Cards Market                 

                    APAC Contactless Smart Cards Market     

                    APAC SIM Cards Market                       

                    APAC Near Field Communication (NFC) Market 

                    APAC Booklets (e-Passports) Market          

                    APAC Universal Serial Bus (USB) Market     

                    Other Form Factors                        

        Conclusions and Insights                              

LIST OF FIGURES

Total Smart Cards Market: Market Drivers Ranked in Order of Impact (Asia Pacific), 2010-2016    
Total Smart Cards Market: Market Restraints Ranked in Order of Impact (Asia Pacific), 2010-2016  
Total Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016       
Total Smart Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016               
Contactless Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016              
Contactless Smart Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016    
SIM Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                 
SIM Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                          
SIM Cards Market: Mobile SIM Penetration by Country (Asia Pacific), 2009           
NFC Market: Mobile Data and Voice Service Revenues by Country (Asia Pacific), 2009            
NFC Market: Mobile Revenues by Country (Asia Pacific), 2009                             
e-Passport Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                 
e-Passport Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                         
USB Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                                   
Total Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts in Transportation (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016 
Total Smart Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts in Transportation (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016          

LIST OF CHARTS

Total Smart Cards Market: Types of Technologies (Asia Pacific), 2009                                                
Total Smart Cards Market: Common Smart Cards Integrated Circuit Form Factors (Asia Pacific), 2009               
Total Smart Cards Market: Common Smart Cards Integrated Circuit Form Factors Divided by Technology (Asia Pacific), 2009
Total Smart Cards Market: Market Drivers (Asia Pacific), 2010-2016                      
Total Smart Cards Market: Market Restraints (Asia Pacific), 2010-2016                 
Total Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016       
Total Smart Cards Market Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                
Contactless Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                                       
Contactless Smart Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016    
Contactless Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Split by Application (Asia Pacific), 2009                               
Contactless Smart Cards Market: Common Contactless Smart Cards Integrated Circuit Form Factors Divided by Technology and Application (Asia Pacific), 2009                                              
SIM Cards Market: Comparison of Common Smart Cards Sizes to the 3FF SIM Cards (Asia Pacific), 2009                     
SIM Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                 
SIM Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                          
SIM Cards Market: Mobile SIM Penetration by Country (Asia Pacific), 2009           
NFC Market: NFC Pilot Projects (Asia Pacific), 2009                                           
NFC Market: Mobile Data and Voice Service Revenues by Country (Asia Pacific), 2009                                       
NFC Market: Mobile Revenues by Country (Asia Pacific), 2009                             
e-Passport Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                 
e-Passport Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                         
USB Market: Revenue Forecasts (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                                  
Total Smart Cards Market: Unit Shipment Forecasts in Transportation (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016                          
Total Smart Cards Market: Revenue Forecasts in Transportation (Asia Pacific), 2008-2016