Smart cards, secure ICs market posts strong growth in 2010

By eGovAsia Editors | Jan 19, 2011

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LONDON -- The latest market data from ABI Research showed that the market for smart cards and secure integrated circuits (ICs) grew to record levels in 2010 and is forecast to grow even further in 2011.

IC sales passed the six billion mark for the first time last year as manufacturers bounced back from a poor 2009 performance, recording growth of over 20 percent. Driving this growth was the SIM card market, which reached the shipment landmark of four billion units for the first time.

ABI Research said in terms of value, the IC market returned to the $2 billion level after a significant decline in 2009 when it fell to $1.7 billion. 

“One might expect contactless to account for a higher percentage, but we must remember that SIM cards, which have not yet seen any significant contactless rollout, account for the majority of shipments,” ABI Research's practice director John Devlin said. 

“In the payment and banking sector, 2010 shipment volumes grew 15 percent and in the coming year they are forecast to expand even faster, comfortably exceeding the milestone of one billion units for the first time. We are also seeing more demand for EMV-compliant cards with advanced Dynamic Data Authentication (DDA) capability, new products meeting higher level Common Criteria security standards and greater issuance of contactless solutions,” he added.

ABI Research’s Smart Card Market Data study includes estimates for the installed base and the annual shipments volumes of smart cards and smart card ICs, as well as tracking the ASP and the resultant revenues.