Smart credentials
Secure 13.56 MHz smart cards
Provisioning-ready AES-secured 13.56 MHz credentials for facilities upgrading from standard smart cards toward strong AES-based security, with a staged migration path. We confirm reader support and the credential issuance process before quoting.
For new deployments or authorised credential issuance. Existing secured cards are not copied.
What is a secure 13.56 MHz smart card?
A secure 13.56 MHz smart card is an ISO 14443 Type A credential with AES-128 security that can operate in a standard-compatible mode and later switch to full AES as readers are upgraded — a staged migration credential. American Key Cards supplies it as provisioning stock for authorized issuance, confirming reader support for the target security level before quoting. Existing secured cards are never copied.
Overview
About Secure smart cards
This card exists for one specific, valuable scenario: a facility standardized on standard 13.56 MHz smart cards that needs real AES security without ripping out every reader on the same weekend. The cards run in a standard-compatible security level on day one, then switch to full AES operation as readers are upgraded — a staged migration instead of a forklift.
This is a provisioning product: cards are supplied for your system operator’s authorized issuance process, and the migration plan matters as much as the card. We confirm reader support for the security levels and how your issuance will work before quoting, because a migration credential bought without a migration plan is just an expensive standard card.
Technical details
Secure 13.56 MHz smart cards specifications
- Frequency
- 13.56 MHz
- Standard
- ISO/IEC 14443 Type A
- Security
- AES-128 secure messaging
- Security levels
- A standard-compatible level through to a full AES level — a staged migration path
- UID
- 7-byte UID
- Card dimensions
- CR80 ISO/IEC 7810 ID-1 — 85.6 × 54 mm
- Thickness
- 30 mil / 0.76 mm
- Printing
- Dye-sub direct-to-card printable
- Ordering route
- New deployment or authorised personalisation
Available configuration
Choose the form factor after the technology
Where it fits
Common Secure smart cards applications
Corporate campuses leaving legacy cards
Phased AES migration across dozens of doors, where readers upgrade building-by-building and one card population works throughout.
Universities hardening campus cards
Student credentials that stop being trivially clonable, issued through the existing card office workflow.
Healthcare facilities under audit
Access credentials whose cryptography survives a security assessment, on a timeline the facilities budget can absorb.
System integrators planning migrations
Card stock aligned to a documented level-switch plan, with the security-level mechanics agreed up front.
Before you order
How to order Secure smart cards correctly
- Reader support decides the timeline
This card’s value is its staged security levels, but readers must support the target level. We check your reader estate’s capability before you commit to card stock.
- Key management is the real project
AES security means someone holds keys. Decide who — you, your integrator, or a card office — before issuance begins; we align the card configuration to that answer.
- Issuance is authorized, not casual
As with all secured credentials, we supply stock for legitimate system operators. Existing secured cards are never copied — that is the security working as intended.
Questions we actually get
Secure smart cards FAQ
Can these cards work on my current standard-card readers?
Yes — that is the design. In the standard-compatible level a card behaves like a standard smart card to installed readers, then the population switches to AES levels as your readers are upgraded.
Why choose a staged card over jumping straight to a fully encrypted card?
The staged card preserves the standard memory map, which suits systems whose software expects that sector structure. Green-field secure deployments usually go straight to fully encrypted cards; migrations with legacy software constraints go with the staged card.
Who holds the AES keys?
Your organization or its designated integrator. We supply the card stock configured for your issuance process; key custody stays with the system operator, which is where it belongs.
What happens to lost standard cards during migration?
Replace them directly with this secure stock — new issues run at the compatible level until the switch, so the migration does not create a two-card problem.
Need help identifying the technology?
Send a photo of the credential and the reader model. We'll identify the format before we quote a compatible product.
Lifetime parts & workmanship guarantee on every card