6. Standardization

6.1 Global information and situation

The aim of standardization is to ensure that, for a given application, any card functions identically on any terminal associated with it. Standards therefore specify the interface between the microcircuit and the outside world: physical characteristics, electrical characteristics, circuit resetting, exchange protocols, definition and coding of commands, transaction or session flow. The basic standards are inter-industrial, because they are general and independent of applications.

Standards work began in France in 1980 within AFNOR, and in October 1981, ISO Technical Committee TC97 on information systems adopted a new subject for work: standardizing the interface of contact microcircuit cards.