chipkaarten

A chipkaart is a plastic card with an embedded integrated circuit that stores data and can perform cryptographic operations. It can be a contact card, inserted into a reader and communicating through physical contacts, or a contactless card, read by proximity. The card’s memory or microprocessor enables secure storage of credentials, keys, and other data, and supports authentication between the card and a reader. Many chipkaarten comply with international standards such as ISO/IEC 7816 for contact cards and ISO/IEC 14443 for contactless cards, often supplemented by regional payment and transit specifications.

Chipkaarten are used in a wide range of sectors. In finance they underpin debit and credit cards, typically with PIN verification or chip-and-PIN security. In public transport they serve as transit passes, allowing quick taps at entry gates. In government and healthcare, chipkaarten can function as identity or service cards, storing citizen or patient information securely; several countries employ national identity or service cards built on smart-card technology.

Security and privacy are central considerations. Cards rely on cryptographic keys, mutual authentication, and sometimes certificates; access is usually protected by a PIN or biometric verification. Data on the card is designed to be tamper-resistant and difficult to clone, but risks such as loss of the card, skimming, or data misuse remain and are addressed by card issuer policies and reader security measures.

History and regional use vary, but chipkaarten were developed in the late 20th century and became widespread in the 1990s and 2000s for payments, identification, and transport. The term is especially common in Dutch-speaking contexts, where national systems like OV-chipkaart illustrate large-scale adoption of smart-card technology.