According to a report from MarketsandMarkets, by 2015, the total global smartcard market will be worth Rs 294.82.29 billion (US$ 6.6 billion), with Asia, especially India and China, emerging as smartcard hotspots.
The telecommunications sector is expected to account for almost 53.8 per cent of the global revenues. MarketsandMarkets says that smart cards will hit a CAGR of 7.3 per cent from 2009 to 2014. Smart card shipments reached 5200 million in 2009, with growth driven by mobile penetration, acceptance by various governments, and increased security and reliability. Growth in the coming years will be supported largely by near-field communication (NFC) and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, growing government ID projects across the globe and EMV compliance.
Asia, particularly India and China, have emerged as smartcard hotspots with the sustained development of the cellular markets and the increasing 3G penetration, as well as heightened governmental interest across the region. In EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), the consumer electronics market contributes to the lucrative industry, with a large-scale adoption of high end smartcards and an increasing need for secure transactions, and identity and access control.