Smart Card Market Size (2024 - 2029)

Smart Card Market Analysis

The Smart Card Market size is estimated at USD 18.69 billion in 2024, and is expected to reach USD 28.22 billion by 2029, growing at a CAGR of 8.59% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

The rising digitalization, increasing demand from online shopping, demand for healthcare, and access control applications are the primary factors augmenting the growth of the smart card market.

• Smart cards provide methods to securely identify and authenticate the cardholder and third parties who want access to the card. For instance, a cardholder can use a PIN code or biometric data for authentication. Smart cards also provide a way to securely store data on the card and protect communications with encryption.
• In an increasingly digital and interconnected world, security concerns have become paramount. Smart cards offer robust security features, including encryption and secure storage of sensitive data, making them an ideal choice for applications that require secure authentication, such as banking, government IDs, and access control.
• The demand for smart cards has been growing each year with applications in various end-use industry markets due to the recent introduction of other security and privacy issues for advanced smart card security applications. Globally, the banking and finance industry is expected to account for a significant share of the smart card market. With critical financial operations being the industry's core, security remains the primary focus. This supports the adoption of advanced authentication solutions and promotes the acceptance of the smart card within the sector.
• The initial cost required for the smart card used for access control and other applications is high as it uses readers and chips of high quality for its functioning. The deployment of readers and chips requires additional costs, which increases the overall cost of smart cards, restraining the growth of smart cards.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, the business for smart cards specific to telecommunications and healthcare was less affected than other verticals. The upsurge of healthcare data brings up new challenges in providing efficient patient care and privacy. Smart cards solved both challenges by providing secure storage (dramatically more than 150 bytes that can be stored on a magnetic stripe card) and easy data distribution. Increasing healthcare expenditure is anticipated to propel the use of smart cards in the healthcare market. ​
• For instance, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, US health spending is projected to reach nearly USD 6 trillion by 2027. Moreover, the emergence of COVID-19 has prompted several nations to develop vaccination-proofing plans, which are also anticipated to aid market growth. Digital credentials are expected to play a major role in managing the pandemic.

Smart Card Industry Segmentation

A smart card is a small plastic card embedded with an integrated circuit chip. It is capable of storing and processing data securely. Smart cards are used in various applications such as identification, authentication, payment systems, access control, and secure data storage.

The smart card market is segmented by type (contact-based and contactless), end-user vertical (BFSI, IT & telecommunication, government, transportation), and geography (North America [United States, Canada], Europe [United Kingdom, Germany, France, Rest of Europe], Asia Pacific [China, Japan, India, Rest of Asia Pacifi]), and Rest of the World). The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value in USD for all the above segments.