Are all prox cards created equal?

Time and time again, I work on projects involving different contactless cards that seem to be united under the same vernacular. It is apparent to me that too many people have adopted the word “Prox” to describe any card with a small read range. If they have a card, and they wave it front of a reader to open a door, log into a PC, or pay for a meal, then it is a prox card… right?

The truth is there are many different types of close range contactless cards that are separated by card manufacturer, chip type, or radio frequency that the card requires. What follows, is a list of the main types of contactless cards that exist in the world today broken up by their RF signal.

125 kHz – Proximity (Prox) – Low Frequency Cards
Quick note about prox cards:
Prox cards are what we call a dumb technology. They are only capable of spitting out an ID number, and commonly serve as building access cards

HID Prox – Most common in the United States

Indalla Prox

Keri Prox

ioProx

EM4102

HITAG

13.56 MHz – ISO14443 – High Frequency
Quick note about HF cards:
HF cards are a smart technology. They have the ability to have data written to them depending on the function of the card. Each one also has a range of security features depending on the application, to ensure that any sensitive information is protected

Crescendo – HID Technology – Physical Access and Logical Access

iClass – HID Technology – Physical Access and Identity Assurance

Mifare – NXP Technology

LEGIC Identsystems – Secure Credentials

NFC Cards/tags – See my blog describing the types of NFC tags

Felica – Sony Technology

Calypso – European Transit cards

Moneo – ePayment card in France and surrounding areas

CEPAS – ePayment card in Singapore