Overview
ISO/IEC 7816-3:2006 - "Identification cards - Integrated circuit cards - Part 3: Cards with contacts - Electrical interface and transmission protocols" defines the electrical interface and communication protocols for contact smart cards. The standard specifies power and signal structures, activation and reset sequences, transmission mechanisms and procedures for data exchange between an integrated circuit card and an interface device (terminal/reader). It applies to asynchronous contact cards and covers character- and block-level transmission (not the content of commands or application data).
Key topics and requirements
- Electrical characteristics: definitions for contacts, power supply and signal structures, voltage levels, current values and input/output capacitances (general electrical requirements for card-reader interoperability).
- Card operating procedure: activation, cold/warm resets, class selection and deactivation procedures describing how a card transitions between states.
- Asynchronous character format: elementary time unit, character framing, parity convention and error handling for character-level communication.
- Answer to Reset (ATR): structure and coding conventions for the card’s initial response after reset - used by the terminal to identify card capabilities.
- Protocol and Parameters Selection (PPS): mechanism for negotiating communication parameters (baud rate, protocol class) between card and reader.
- Transmission protocols:
- T=0: half‑duplex transmission of characters - command/response exchange at character level.
- T=1: half‑duplex transmission of blocks - block framing, sequence control, error detection (CRC/EDC) and recovery mechanisms.
- Data exchange models: command-response APDU handling by both T=0 and T=1.
- Timing and control: guard times, waiting times (character/block waiting), procedure bytes and error signalling.
- Note: ISO/IEC 7816-3 focuses on interchange mechanics and explicitly does not define application-level content, security services or issuer/user identification (those are covered in Part 4 and other parts).
Applications and who uses it
ISO/IEC 7816-3 is essential for:
- Smart card manufacturers designing contact card chips and contact pads.
- Card reader / terminal designers implementing electrical and protocol support to ensure interoperability.
- System integrators and payment/ID solution providers deploying chip-based payment cards, ID cards, SIMs and secure access cards.
- Test labs and certification bodies validating compliance with contact card electrical and protocol requirements.
Practical applications include payment terminals, ID/driver’s license systems, banking cards and secure authentication tokens that rely on contact-based smart cards.
Related standards
- ISO/IEC 7816-1 (physical characteristics)
- ISO/IEC 7816-2 (dimensions and contact locations)
- ISO/IEC 7816-4 (organization, security and commands for interchange)
- Other parts in the ISO/IEC 7816 series cover synchronous cards, USB interfaces and application-level commands.
Keywords: ISO/IEC 7816-3, smart cards, contact cards, electrical interface, transmission protocols, T=0, T=1, ATR, PPS, APDU, card reader interoperability.
Open preview (PDF)Identification cards — Integrated circuit cards — Part 3: Cards with contacts — Electrical interface and transmission protocols