Texas targets RFID payment card market
The firm expects to have a chip ready for certification by Mastercard by the second quarter of 2005 and is planning to start full production of the IC in the second half of the year. The new chip will be based on the company's ISO/IEC 14443 technology platform, which aims to achieve the high standards of security and privacy required for financial transactions.
It will feature crypto algorithms approved by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "The financial services industry recognises that ISO/IEC 14443-based RFID solutions provide the stringent levels of security required for conducting payment transactions," said Shawn Rogers, director of wireless commerce at Texas Instruments RFID Systems.
"With our heritage in pioneering technologies in new markets, we're working with leading bank card issuers and credit card companies to bring these highly reliable and secure RFID solutions to this market."
Security chips for credit cards could become a major new market for semiconductor companies over coming years. According to a recent report, 4.38 billion new payment cards were issued in 2003.
