Anyone who has had their credit card renewed recently will have noticed their new card features an embedded microcontroller, turning what was an essentially dumb piece of plastic into the euphemistic 'smart card'. Credit card companies, along with other financial institutions and a range of other users, have made the move to smart cards to improve security, whether for financial transactions or physical security. Smart cards are also playing an important role in conditional access for satellite tv, amongst other applications. "As security concerns increase around the world, there has been a significant acceleration in smart card technology, leading to increasing requirements for improved card terminal characteristics," said Jean-Christophe Doucet, product manager at TDK Semiconductor.
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