Chip

Brief Information About The Chip Cards

  • General features
  • Activation process
  • Actors and roles
  • Security: Methods, technique and algorithms
  • Güvenlik: Metodlar, teknik ve algoritmalar

General Features

  • It is more flexible, more functional, more practical and much more reliable in comparison to the existing cards. The average transaction costs are lower.
  • In terms of the contents; they can be divided into three groups as 'chip cards with memory only', 'chip cards with memory and security logic' and 'chip cards with memory and processor'. In terms of their connection to the outer world, they can be divided into two groups as 'Contact' and 'Contactless'.
  • Microprocessor type (6085, 8051 etc.), mask ROM capacity, RAM capacity, permanent memory type EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Electrically EPROM) and capacity, clock speed, electrical parameters (voltage and current), communication parameters (asynchronous, synchronous, byte, block), sleep mode (Stand-by Operation at low current) and Co-processor (Public Key Coding) are the key parameters on chip specification and cost basis.
  • Dimensions of the plastic card, the place of the chip on the contact cards, card material (PVC etc.), optionally the magnetic stripe, signature section, hologram or picture or embossings, connections to the outer world (power, ground, reset, I/O, clock), and finally the environmental parameters (voltage, temperature, stretching etc.) have been determined with ISO-7816 standard set.

Activation Process

  • In principle, the chips cards are produced through such phases as establishment of an integrated circuit, installation of an operating (filing) system and application(s) on this, personalization process and installation of the chip on a plastic card.
  • However, due to the need for security, flexibility and configuration identification on card holder basis and several concerns such as enabling multiple applications; the multiple applications of chip cards cannot be performed so easily. The phases of the production require various expertise areas and a very good integration.
  • Therefore, at the very first process of transition to the chip world, use of ready products in fully completed and certificated state under the EMV standardization can be considered to be a critical success factor for meeting the compatibility requirements more easily.

EMV

EMV is an international certification program developed by Europay-MasterCard and VISA that includes the rules aimed at ensuring functionality in the structure of global payments through the chip card technologies. EMV Certification constitutes the framework of the system that enables transactions with the chip cards at the terminals which accept chip cards. The EMV Certification program provides that, following adaptation of the technological infrastructure, all the magnetic stripe cards existing in the EU countries will be replaced with the EMV-compatible chip cards until the end of 2004. Through this technology and the EMV certification standards, superior security and flexibility will be established for the card holders and the transactions at the points of sales.

Security and Methods
Security Mechanisms
Symmetric and Asymmetric Techniques