Smart Card Market Size By Solution (Smart Card [Product {Contact, Contactless, Hybrid, Dual Interface}, Type {Memory Card, Microprocessor Card}], Smart Card Reader [Component {Hardware, Software, Service}, Product {Contact, Contactless}]), By Application

Smart Card Market Size By Solution (Smart Card [Product {Contact, Contactless, Hybrid, Dual Interface}, Type {Memory Card, Microprocessor Card}], Smart Card Reader [Component {Hardware, Software, Service}, Product {Contact, Contactless}]), By Application (SIM & Telecom, Financial, Government & Health, Retail & Gas, Access Control, Transportation, Loyalty), COVID-19 Impact Analysis, Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2022 - 2028

The smart card market is projected to expand significantly by 2028 on account of recent technological advancements around the world.

Ongoing advancements in information technology worldwide have made smart cards an integral part of transactions across almost all sectors, such as healthcare, banking, transportation, e-commerce, telecommunications, and many more. Widespread adoption of smart cards has ensured better quality of services in terms of customization and security. Moreover, growing emphasis on transactional transparency has led to prevalent adoption of smart cards, which has augmented industry growth over the past few years.

The smart card market has been segmented based on application, solution, and region. In terms of solution, the market has been categorized into smart card reader and smart card. The smart card solution segment has further been segregated by product into four segments viz., dual interface, contact, hybrid, and contactless.

The hybrid segment is projected to witness robust growth over the assessment period. Hybrid cards are widely used in the transport industry as identification cards for ticketing in public transport. The technology used in hybrid cards enables a shorter waiting time at the point of validation, thereby generating greater user satisfaction, which is likely to boost product demand.

The smart card solution segment has been categorized by type into microprocessor card and memory card. The microprocessor card segment is likely to showcase a solid growth trajectory over 2022-2028 owing to mounting demand for microprocessor-based smart cards with dynamic data processing capabilities.

The smart card reader solution segment has been classified based on component into service, hardware, and software. The smart card market share from the software segment is slated to reach a significant valuation by the end of 2028 on account of escalating demand for software platforms that ensure secure payment processing.

The smart card reader solution segment has further been bifurcated in terms of product into contactless and contact. The contact segment is foreseen to amass notable gains by 2028 due to extensive product applications in credit card and debit card transaction systems. These cards are manually inserted into the reader by the user and find applications that require more security like meal plans, government IDs, healthcare cards, e-commerce transactions, electronic cash, campus IDs, vending, loyalty, and network security.

From the application perspective, the smart card market has been differentiated into loyalty, SIM & telecom, transportation, financial, access control, government & health, retail & gas, and others. The smart card market size from the retail & gas segment is anticipated to observe steady expansion over the review timeline due to widespread installation of POS terminals for customer convenience across the booming retail sector.

The transportation segment is set to attain a sizable market share by 2028 on account of increasing product penetration in the transport sector across several countries owing to several product advantages, including improved flexibility, portability, and convenience. The introduction of numerous government schemes to make travel easier for bus and metro commuters is estimated to bolster segmental development in the coming time period.

The loyalty segment is expected to observe exponential progress over the analysis timeframe. Smart cards are used as a stored value in loyalty programs and gift cards to track and reward repeat consumers with incentives in a more convenient and secure manner. This helps store owners in increasing customer retention, encouraging spending, and strengthening customer relationships, which is slated to promote segmental progress.

On the regional front, the North America smart card market is speculated to gain substantial traction through the forecast period driven by the developed technology landscape in the region as well as sturdy economic conditions in the region. Meanwhile, the MEA smart card industry is poised to progress at a considerable growth rate over the study period propelled by prevalent adoption of electronic payment methods across South Africa, the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.