Increased Anti-Counterfeiting and NFC Secure Element Shipments Drives Smart Card and Secure IC Shipments Near to 9 Billion in 2012

​ABI Research has identified a rapidly growing demand for secure microcontrollers enabling high levels of security and authentication within the anti-counterfeiting and NFC secure element markets, as well as increasing security within connected devices. From the previous market data, shipment forecasts for 2012 have been increased from 261 million to 540 million units.

Overall, expectations for this quarter’s smart card and secure IC market remain relatively unchanged from the previous quarter. Overall, YoY shipment growth for year-end 2012 is projected to achieve double-digit increases of 11.9% and 13.4% respectively.

The contactless market is already undergoing experiential growth, driven by continued uptake of dual-interface EMV cards, migration to contactless ID cards, and increasing penetration of NFC into handsets. 2011 to 2012 contactless shipment growth is forecast to hit 29.9% for IC’s and 24.4% for smart cards. The tipping point for contactless growth is expected around 2014 to 2015, which coincides with the completion of some large scale projects within the government ID and payments market.

Research analyst Phil Sealy says, “The rapid increase in this emerging category presents an increasing opportunity for secure IC vendors. Overall, Samsung remained the market leader in 2011 with exceptional volumes of SIM cards. The expanding use of these products outside of traditional smart cards presents NXP, Infineon, and STMicroelectronics the opportunity to close the market share gap as this is an area where they been quick to develop products.”

Practice Director John Devlin states, “There appears to be a divide developing between the smart card vendors.  Morpho, Watchdata, Kona@I, and Wuhan Tianyu recorded market share volume growth in 2011.  At the same time, Gemalto, Oberthur, and G&D are developing their software and services offerings for high-end smart card applications.”

This market data report focuses on the collection of primary data from leading manufacturers of smart cards and secure ICs. The data includes the installed base, annual shipments, and revenues of smart cards and smart card ICs. Data is presented for each of the main verticals: enterprise & access ID, government ID, payment, pay TV/conditional access, retail/loyalty, SIM, telecom/payphone, transportation, and "other." These findings are part of ABI Research’s Smart Card & Secure IC Market Tracker which includes Research Reports, Market Data, Insights, and Competitive Assessments.

ABI Research provides in-depth analysis and quantitative forecasting of trends in global connectivity and other emerging technologies. From offices in North America, Europe and Asia, ABI Research’s worldwide team of experts advises thousands of decision makers through 70+ research and advisory services. Est. 1990. For more information visit www.abiresearch.com, or call +1.516.624.2500.