Smart Card Market

Smart Card Market Outlook – 2027

The global smart card market size was valued at $10.19 billion in 2019, and is projected to reach $15.57 billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 6.2% from 2020 to 2027. A smart card is a physical card that contains either an embedded memory or a microcontroller contained in a contact pad. It connects to a reader either by a short-range wireless connectivity or through direct physical contact standard such as near-field communication (NFC) or radio-frequency identification (RFID). Smart cards use encryption to provide safety for in-memory information and are generally designed to be tamper-resistant. Smart cards with microcontroller chip can accomplish on-card processing functions and can manipulate data in the chip's memory.

The healthcare segment impacted positively due to COVID-19 outbreak.

Smart cards are used in many applications such as credit cards and other payment cards. These cards are usually used in applications that must deliver secure, fast transactions, and protect individual data such as credit cards, other kinds of payment cards, government identification & corporate cards, and transit fare payment cards. It is also sometimes used as a legal document such as e-passports and visas. A subscriber identity module (SIM) card is also a form of microcontroller-based smart card, which is widely used in mobile phones and other devices.

The global smart card industry is anticipated to witness significant growth over the forecast period. Factors, such as rapid digitalization, surge in cashless transactions, and rise in demand from the healthcare sector, drive the growth of the smart card market. However, high set-up cost along with data theft & security concern is a major restraint to the global smart card industry. In addition, new mode of information security of users enabled by blockchain is expected to create opportunities for the smart card industry. Smart cards can efficiently manage cryptographic keys, thereby enabling secure & efficient transactions in blockchain applications.

Segment Overview

The global smart card market is segmented into type, end user, and region. By type, the market is divided into contact, contactless, and dual interface. Depending on end user, it is segregated into BFSI, telecommunication, healthcare, government, transportation, and others.

Region-wise, the smart card market trends are analyzed across North America (the U.S., Canada, and Mexico), Europe (the UK, Germany, France, and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia-Pacific), and LAMEA (Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa). Asia-Pacific is dominating the smart card market, owing to growing demand for telecommunication products and rapid digitalization in this region. Asia-Pacific is also projected to register significant growth rate during the forecast period. Furthermore, North America holds a subsequent position, and is expected to increase its growth rate by the end of the forecast period, followed by Europe. 

Leading smart card manufacturers, such as Thales, NXP Semiconductors NV, and Giesecke+Devrient GmbH, are focusing their investment on technologically advanced, cost effective, and more secure products & solutions for various applications.

Top Impacting Factors

The prominent factors that impact the smart card market growth are growing adoption of smart cards in the banking & financial sector and surge in demand for contactless smart card. Ongoing technological advancements, such as blockchain and IoT technologies, drive the smart card market. However, high costs of incorporating chip cards restrict the market growth. On the contrary, high demand from the Asia-Pacific region is expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market. Therefore, these factors are anticipated to definitely affect the development of the global smart card market during the forecast period.

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis and profiles of the major smart card market players, such as Alioth LLC, CardLogix Corporation, CPI Card Group Inc., Giesecke+Devrient GmbH, IDEMIA, Identiv, Inc., Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors NV, Thales, and Watchdata Technologies, are considered.

Covid-19 Impact Analysis

The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly affected the electronics and semiconductor sector. Business and manufacturing units across various countries were closed, owing to increase in number of COVID-19 cases, and are estimated to remain closed in 2021. Furthermore, partial or complete lockdown has disrupted the global supply chain, thereby posing challenges for manufactures to reach customers. The overall production process has been adversely affected. However, the growth of the telecommunication segment boosts the global smart card market.

The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting the society and overall economy across the globe. The impact of this outbreak is growing day-by-day as well as affecting the overall business globally. The crisis is creating uncertainty in the stock market, falling business confidence, massive slowing of supply chain, and increasing panic among the customer segments.

The Asian and European countries under lockdowns have suffered major loss of business and revenue due to the shutdown of manufacturing units in the region. Operations of the production and manufacturing industries have been heavily impacted by the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease, leading to decline in growth of the smart card market in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the electronics sector as the production facility has stalled, which, in turn, created significant product demand in industries. This resulted in large-scale manufacturing interruption across Europe and interruption in Chinese parts exports, which are expected to hinder the smart card market growth. 

Key Benefits For Stakeholders

• This study comprises analytical depiction of the global smart card market outlook along with the current trends and future estimations to depict the imminent investment pockets.
• The overall smart card market analysis is determined to understand the profitable trends to gain a stronger foothold.
• The report presents information related to key drivers, restraints, and opportunities with a detailed impact analysis.
• The current smart card market forecast is quantitatively analyzed from 2019 to 2027 to benchmark the financial competency. 
• Porter’s five forces analysis illustrates the potency of the buyers and the smart card market share key vendors.
• The report includes the market trends and market share of key vendors.

Key Market Segments

By Type

• Contact
• Contactless
• Dual Interface

By End User

• BFSI
• Telecommunication
• Healthcare
• Government
• Transportation
• Others

By Region

• North America
  • U.S.
  • Canada
  • Mexico
• Europe
  • Uk
  • Germany
  • France
  • Rest Of Europe
• Asia-Pacific
  • China 
  • Japan
  • India
  • Rest Of Asia-Pacific
• Lamea
  • Latin America
  • Middle East 
  • Africa

Key Players

• Alioth Llc
• Cardlogix Corporation
• Cpi Card Group Inc. 
• Giesecke+Devrient Gmbh
• Idemia
• Identiv, Inc.
• Infineon Technologies Ag
• Nxp Semiconductors Nv
• Thales 
• Watchdata Technologies

 Smart Card Market Report Highlights