Smart card industry to touch $ 149mln by FY11

New Delhi, Feb 20 (UNI) The continued boom in the mobile telephony market and the paradigm shift in the government's documentation process has opened up the horizon for greater usage of smart cards in the country.

According to a recent study by global consultancy Frost&Sullivan, the total market for smart cards is forecast to reach 148.7 million dollars by 2010-11, registering a CAGR of 22.7 per cent. The same was estimated to be at 44.7 million dollars during 2005-2006.

''The smart cards market is set for a quantum jump in the near future and is also moving higher in terms of quality of usage. Smart card vendors are moving towards an era where they will have to intelligently upgrade their users towards higher memory while balancing a decline in prices.'' ''Time over runs in projects and government's tight cost control are also expected to challenge smart vendors' business ingenuity,'' said Mr V Niju, Programme Manager, Automation and Electronics, Frost&Sullivan.

The study noted that the domestic smart card market is dominated by the SIM application. Thus the phenomenal growth in GSM mobile telephony and implementation of driving license and vehicle registration projects are acting as key drivers.

GSM telephony, the early mover, holds the key as the usage of SIM in its mobile phones provides the much needed flexibility to subscribers, it added.

Though SIM card applications are expected to continue their domination of the smart card market, impending non-SIM applications are also anticipated to create strong demand.

Non-SIM applications of government projects, payment and loyalty cards will be some of the key drivers for greater penetration of smart cards during the forecast period. Presently usage of smart cards in payment applications is negligible but is expected to witness a steep increase once the Euro Master Visa compliance target date approaches. Introduction of 'petro' cards has also helped popularise the use of smart cards in the loyalty cards segment.

UNI