MasterCard defends RFID cards

MasterCard in Australia has dismissed allegations that its RFID-based PayPass credit card may be susceptible to skimming and interference.

ZD Net says about 35 000 Commonwealth Bank customers in New South Wales are taking part in a trial of the cards with selected retail outlets. A scanned PayPass card can make a "contactless" transaction to the value of $35 without requiring a signature or identification number.

The report says the speed of PayPass transactions has seen it already widely used in the US and Asia, but the company is still fighting concerns over the security of the technology. However, MasterCard says the concerns are based on inaccurate perceptions and no problems have been reported in the trial.

China Post has implemented an RFID-enabled system to track express mail bags within the postal district of Shanghai. EFY Times says the project is part of an ongoing national pilot project to validate the benefits of RFID within China Post`s operations.

China Post has verified that RFID technology can reduce the amount of time it takes to process the mailbags, because the bags can be tracked as they move through various points.

The RFID systems implemented by China Post use durable and reusable RFID tags and tag readers certified by EPCglobal for full Gen 2 dense-reader mode support.

An RFID infrastructure company and an RFID systems company in the US have donated a fully-automated, item-level RFID infrastructure to a branch of the New Orleans Public Library that was destroyed by hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

According to More RFID, the RFID-enabled system provided by Tagsys and Integrated Technology Group offers the New Orleans Public Library staff a more accurate and efficient way to track books, CDs, periodicals and other media.

The system includes 25 000 item-level RFID tags, two security gates, a staff station, and a self checkout station. With the new system in place, library members will have the ability to borrow and return items on their own, without the need for staff assistance.

Semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom has released a secure chip with RFID technology that offers greater security, as well as the ability to operate at either high or low frequency, reports RFID Journal.

The chip is designed to secure personal authentication cards such as access cards and contactless credit cards. Data is encrypted to run on a single chip only and is further protected by tamper detection mechanisms.

The report says biometrics company Privaris will be the first to use the new Broadcom chip in its biometric devices used for access as well as contactless payments. Privaris says the new chip offers greater security at a lower cost than any previous security solution.