14443

ISO/IEC 14443 is a family of international standards for proximity or contactless smart cards that operate at 13.56 MHz. It defines the baseline interface between a reader (proximity coupling device, PCD) and a card (proximity integrated circuit card, PICC), covering physical characteristics, signal transmission, anticollision, and higher-level data exchange. The standard is widely used in applications such as transit fare collection, access control, and contactless payment, and it forms the foundation for many near-field communication implementations.

The 14443 family is organized into four parts. Part 1 specifies the physical characteristics of PICCs, including dimensions and materials. Part 2 defines the radio frequency interface, including modulation, coding schemes, and data transfer rates. Part 3 covers initialization and anticollision, enabling the reader to select a single card when multiple cards are present. Part 4 describes the transmission protocol and the command/response structure used for data exchange. The standard provides two physical-layer options, known as Type A and Type B, which use different modulation and coding schemes. RF data rates defined under the standard include 106, 212, and 424 kilobits per second, depending on the mode.

In practice, ISO/IEC 14443 enables secure, short-range communication between a reader and a card, supporting mutual authentication and secure messaging through higher-layer protocols. It is widely implemented in public transit systems, access-control badges, and payment cards, and it is also used for contactless interfaces in e-passports and various NFC-enabled devices. The standard is maintained by ISO and IEC, and has several regional and industry profiles that extend its applicability to specific applications.