At its annual General Assembly in Brussels, Eurosmart, released the 2013 figures as well as the 2014 forecast for the worldwide smart secure devices shipments and the smart secure contactless markets.
“Our figures and market evaluations provide solid information, as Eurosmart consolidates the data provided by its member companies which comprise all major players in the industry”, said Oyvind Rastad, Eurosmart’s reelected chairman. “While we had a slight drop in the SIM card market in 2013, mostly due to regulations in Asia requiring stricter proof of identity, the SIM card market is back to growth, with a forecast of 5.1 billion units to be shipped. The deployment of the mobile ultra-broadband internet access and the continued migration to LTE and 4G networks worldwide will attract new broadband services and strengthen the use of multiple connected devices, including smart phones and tablets, to be equipped with a secure high-end SIM card. With the shipments of more than 250 million NFC Secure Elements in 2013, NFC shows strong growth which is expected to continue in 2014.”
For payment, the migration to EMV cards -cards equipped with a chip- drove growth in 2013: “In order to make digital transactions much more secure, we have been pushing hard for cards with magnetic stripes to be replaced by the much safer chip cards”, stated Rastad. “Recent breaches of cyber security all over the world, including the attack on the third-largest U.S. retailer, which affected 40 million payment cards, clearly demonstrate the need for stronger payment security. The latest ‘Third Report on Card Fraud’ from February 2014 by the European Central Bank confirms a correlation between the use of a chip and the decline of fraud.”
“Another growth driver is the increasing digitalization of government services and the corresponding legislation, e.g. electronic passports, electronic vehicle registration card and electronic driving licences, electronic health cards and electronic ID cards. The nascent needs for these e-credentials in areas with a fast-growing population – typically Asia – will ensure a steady growth in the coming years”.
“The Smart Security Industry still regards the security and protection of data and privacy as its foremost goal and offers products, solutions and services for secure electronic authentication and signature”, said the Eurosmart Chairman.
“Eurosmart will keep urging European decision-makers to anchor the protection of privacy in the European regulation. Only secure and convenient identification and authentication in mobile telecommunications, payment, identity, healthcare or transport will foster citizens’ trust in the digital world. Another key driver for EMV migration is the convenience brought by speedy contactless transactions as evident by the 2014 forecast according to which dual interface cards amounts to over 40% of all cards shipped in 2014.”